It's Not That Simple
by Feathers Apart
Summary: A multitude of connected short stories hoping to give a more in-depth look at Blu's life, before, during, and immediately after the Events of the movie.
1. First Impressions

1. First Impressions

I couldn't keep my wings from trembling as the maniacal laughs reverberated in the room. I wasn't the only one affected, the entire room, once filled with noise, now only echoed with the silence of fearful birds. The Sulpher Crested Cockatoo's song stuck to my mind, giving me chills, as I examined the poster of him on the grungy cement wall. Surely my Linda would find us, surely she would. Nigel's words however still clung to my heart, filling it with dread. What if she didn't? Would we be killed? Could I survive this? What about Jewel? The last question stuck with me longer but I shook it from my mind, wishing I had never allowed Linda to talk me into coming here. A soft voice broke the silence.

"Blu?" The female macaw looked at me with concern in her blue eyes. "We'll make it out of this."

I nodded, looking back at her in agreement "Linda will find us." I tried to make myself sound hopeful, but I couldn't help but realize the odds were stacked against her.

Jewel's face turned from concern to one of disgust. "What do you even see in this Linda? Surely she can't be much greater than the people we've met so far!" Her voice rose until she was nearly shouting at me.

"S-she took care of me." I blurted out shying away from the sudden anger in Jewel's voice.

"You live in a cage! She stole your freedom!"

"What do you mean she stole my freedom?" Now I had raised my voice. Realizing this I backed away again and nearly whispered "I've been freer with her than any other point of my life. She loves me, cares for me, she accepts me. It was my first impression of her and it is the one that has stuck and proven itself true time and again."

I closed my eyes in an effort to recall what took place nearly fifteen years ago…

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><p>"She is not my first memory per say, but she is the first one that truly mattered to me. I remember darkness and the intense chill that can only be experienced in the north. In the past few days this dark box and the near useless bedding had become my entire world. I had repeatedly tried burying myself within the torn towel that lined the bottom of my box. No matter how much I snuggled into it, I could still feel the chill seeping into my young bones.<p>

The only changes to my surrounding were the occasional draft of cold air that ripped any heat out from the confines of my prison, and the periodic stall in the noise produced by the trucks tires gripping the pavement. The only option that rose in my young mind was to sleep and hope everything turned out ok.

I was shaken from my miserable sleep by the brief weightless feeling of falling and what I've now decided is the best crash I've ever had. After the deafening crack of my prison hitting the ground, I began to come to my senses. Whatever had just happened, I had survived. This small joy was quickly taken from me as I realized how much colder it was now. Even the light pouring in from the hole in my crate had no warmth to it. It only made the absence of heat more visible. Even at my young age I knew deep down that I would die out here.

Linda rescued me from that. She found me on the side of the road, near the corner of 3rd and Cedar Avenue I believe. I remember the anxiety, another human reaching for me, grabbing at me, but something was different about her, she had warmth the others didn't have. The girl grabbed me and-and she spoke, I didn't understand it, but it was soft, like a mother's should be. She tucked me into her jacket and whisked me back to her house. She brought me upstairs to her room, speaking quietly to me the entire time.

Linda ensured I was safe and well, wrapping me in her blankets and giving me some water and a walnut which she cracked for me. I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember the dream I had that night.

I was in my hollow, the morning sun and the music had woken me. I loved to watch the birds dance and sing. I looked at my wings, my first feathers were almost in; I was so excited to finally join them in a few weeks. That's when it happened, the traps, my balance, and the fall. Horrified I watched as birds just vanished. I was confused, where were my parents. I lost my balance and began to fall. It seemed as if it took a lifetime, I just couldn't open my wings. The worst part was, even in my dream, I knew it was all real.

Before my eyes were open, Linda had me in her arms and was whispering to me, I don't remember the song she whispered, but it was soothing. The fear melted away. I fell asleep in her arms soon after and experienced no more nightmares.

She has always been there for me, whether it was her parents asking to get rid of me or the time I got sick, she always made sure I was taken care of and loved. She even called me Tyler Blu Gunderson, using her last name. She is not my owner, she never was, she is my family."

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><p>I opened my eyes, and the details faded, I hadn't meant to go on that long. I looked over, noticing Jewel staring at me with a blank expression before shaking her head.<p>

"Sounds to me like a little girl found a bird and kept it as her pet!" she replied, the anger still in her voice.

"I-I said, I'm not a pet" I tried to reply in defense, but the sentence sputtered before I got to the word "pet". Jewel wasn't even listening anymore. She was eyeing the cage we had found ourselves in. Did this bird even have feelings?

The sudden movement startled me as the cage lurched forward. Jewel had thrown herself into the bars. "Woh! Woh! Woh! Wait! Wait! What are you doing?" I squawked as I tried to regain my balance.

"Getting out of here! Are you going to help me or what?" Jewel replied frantically as she swung herself back into the cage. Everything was swinging wildly now, and I was beginning to feel sick. I tried to reason with her.

"A-actually all the survival guides say to sit and wait. And-and help will come."

"No one is coming!"

My eyes dropped to the floor. I really hoped she was wrong, I really did, but something deep down told me she may be right.

"We're on our own and if we just sit here, we're going to die!" Jewel continued as she swung the cage ever closer to the window and the open sky beyond.

As the cage swung back towards the window, Jewel desperately grabbed for the window bars, ignoring the door completely.

"Stop. Stop! Why don't you just open the door?" I replied, deciding I would help her for now. There was no need for her to hurt herself.


	2. Flight

A/N: Thanks for reading all of you, I hope you like it so far. Though these may seem fairly unconnected I assure you, it all comes together later... Well that's the idea anyway. Alright you know it's coming.

I do not own Blu, Jewel, or any of the Rio cast, setting, story, and lines that appear in the movie. Those are all the sole property of Blue Sky Animation.

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><p>2. Flight<p>

"Ohh that feels nice." I sighed, let's be real here, like it or not, I am still from a tropical climate, cold is not something I enjoy, or even tolerate that much, which is why the sun felt so nice this afternoon. It was what Linda called "spring" and I loved it. I ruffled my wings and melted against my perch as the rays soaked into my freshly preened feathers. Several minutes later I couldn't' help but move if only to look at my newly fledged primaries. These beautiful feathers told me I was ready to fly.

"Bluuu"

My attention immediately shifted from myself to the doorway. Linda was home! I abandoned my warm perch and slid the lock to my cage door open. As the young girl entered our room, I made my way to the top of my cage. Looking at her cheerfully I asked her how school had gone.

The girl looked at me and smiled, "I'm good, how was your day Blu? Oh wait!" she interrupted herself and searched franticly in her backpack before pulling out a couple books and tossing them on the bed. "I picked these up at the library today; I figured you might like them."

Oh how life just couldn't get better! Before Linda could walk over to get me, I spread my wings and launched myself off the top of the cage. The sensation felt awesome, I was finally doing it! I was flying… err.. gliding… well, now that I think about it, the ground did come up awfully fast.

Linda was on top of me in seconds, "oh Blu! Are you ok?" I shook my head and couldn't help but sag in defeat. My companion must have seen this because she drew me to her face and gave me a light squeeze of reassurance. "These books might help actually" she spoke, placing me down on her bed in front of the two pieces of literature. _Flight_ and _Applied Physics_, well the names certainly weren't creative, but if Linda thought they would help, I believed her.

As she sat down to do homework, I began to flip through the pages of the books. I was immediately enthralled by the text. The logic behind these arguments was incredible! Every now and then I would look up from the book at my feathers or my wing. I could only nod in agreement with the text each time. At some point Linda came over and got my attention.

"Blu, it's late, and I would like to use my bed sometime soon."

Sure enough as I looked around, the sun and gone down and Linda's clock read 10:00pm. I was stunned; I never stayed up this late. As I closed the books and climbed onto Linda's shoulder so she could take me back to my cage, I realized how tired I was. The last thing I heard was Linda shutting my cage door, and I was off to sleep.

It was the wind that roused me. The howling it created as it beat against the window across the room was relentless. I nuzzled my head closer to my chest resenting the noise. I was awake though, so sleeping was now out of the question. I performed a couple stretches and ensured that all my feathers were in line as they should be, taking special care with my new primaries.

A small bowl of fruit had been placed in my cage; dropping from my perch I grabbed a bite. Finishing the piece, I went to wash it down. As soon as the water touched my beak I spit it out cringing at the taste. I pushed the bowl away, begging the taste to quit ravaging my mouth.

Snapping my beak together hoping to remove the vile flavor I turned to face the empty room before me. Immediately I noticed a note on Linda's desk. With a slide of my beak the cage door was open and I hopped onto the wooden desk.

Tyler Blu,

I have to help mom with the shop today; your books are in the front room downstairs, enjoy! Oh I put your vitamins in your water today, all of it better be gone when I get back this afternoon. Love you Blu.

Sincerely,

Linda

I cringed, so there was a reason for the awful taste that still plagued my mouth. With a sly grin and an idea forming, I hopped back into my cage and maneuvered the bowl to the side of my cage. The potted plant below would do the job well. As I grappled the remarkably heavy bowl onto its side I couldn't help but notice how sickly the plant had become recently. With the sincerest apology, I thought of the plant no further and made my way down to the front room.

I climbed up the chair and hopped onto the table in the front room. Though the wind still howled against the glass, the morning sun bathed the table with light. I had just settled down and was getting into my book when a light tap brought me grudgingly away from my text. I knew who it was, but for some reason, I still decided to acknowledge the noise

"What now Alice? Can I help you with anything?"

The goose just snickered and replied "Oh no, we only want to see Blu come out and try flapping those puny wings."

I sighed, it seemed that nearly every day this would happen. I tried to refocus on my book and act uncaring. "I'll have you know that I can fly perfectly fine thank you very much."

This time Chloe's face popped into view "Gliding in a house and flying are not the same thing, but you wouldn't know would you nerd bird." The last comment got laughs out of both of them until they saw I was ignoring them. Grumbling, the two geese decided I wasn't being fun today and left. I gave out a sigh of relief when they were finally gone, but Chloe's comment stuck with me.

With a sigh I closed my book. The geese may be jerks, but they had a point. I looked at my wings and made my decision; it was time to fly. I made my way to the front door and squeezed out the mail slot. As soon as I was outside, the wind ripped at my feathers. Alice and Chloe were nowhere to be found. It was at this point, sense began to return to me courtesy of the strong winds whipping at my face. My prior determination left me and I put my wings up to say "oh no. I am not going to be this stupid. Not now!"

It was a millisecond later when I realized my error and the fact that I was no longer on the front porch but rather several feet above the porch steps and rapidly rising. In my panic I tucked my wings in tight just in time to drop onto something solid. I gripped it for my life.

I sat still gripping for my life. Until now, my eyes had been closed, but I finally hazarded a glance. Fear welled within me as I found myself nearly twenty feet up on the roof of a house. I closed my eyes and wished it all would just disappear. How long I was up there, I don't recall, but I remember at one point hearing a voice call to me in the violent wind. My eyes peeked open, but all I saw was the empty front lawn laying far below me. I closed my eyes again.

This time I heard it for real. It was my name being called and by no other than Linda! I snapped my eyes open to find her staring at me through her large glasses, shielding me from the wind. She grabbed me gently and pulled me close to her as she descended the ladder. The moment her feet touched the ground she rushed me inside and wrapped me in blankets. Her eyes tearing up as she looked at me.

"I'm so glad you're ok." Her face turned from worry to angry, "Don't ever do that again! You scared me half to death." She scolded before her face softened. She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged me close. At that moment I nuzzled her cheek and promised….

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><p>My eyes opened slowly. It was still dark, but the rays of sun were just reaching the horizon. I nearly lost my grip as everything that had happened the previous day rushed back into my memory. I struggled to retain my balance on the old gazebo. <em>Oh Linda<em> I thought, _how will I ever get back to you?_ I scanned the countryside. Rio, the place I needed to be, still lay sleeping far below us. Try as I might, I could not locate the conservatory where Linda would be.

With a quiet sigh I looked down at the chain on my foot. My eyes followed it to the sleeping form that lay chained to the other end. I still can't truly put into words the beauty that Jewel possessed as words cannot accurately describe it, but I can say that I have no chance with her. There was always something about her personality that made everything cold. We have to get this chain off; it would be the best for both of us. She could be free to her hearts content, and I could be with my companion again.

Again my thoughts drifted to Linda. I broke my promise, she had to be worried sick about me. After all she had given me: the love, attention, companionship. I longed to be with her again, back in store, a cup of cocoa with the perfect number of marshmallows and a nice book to-

The idea hit me; I knew how to get the chain off! I recalled some of the pages from _Applied Physics_and did the calculations mentally. I would of course need to go over them and write them out to be sure, but it could work! Excitedly, I nudged Jewel, "Hey! I know how to get this chain off!"


	3. Discoveries

A/N: Alright, so this is probably one of the last really quick updates I will have. I intend to keep some sort of schedule with this story, but with life picking back up, I won't be able to get one or two out a day.

I also do not want to nag you guys every chapter with a read and review plea. I think you probably get it by now, and I intend to keep writing this with or without reviews. However, reviews are very useful in helping me get better. So if you have a minute to spare and some good advice, praise, or suggestion please feel free to let me know.

Again I do not own Rio, any of the characters, the story, the ideas, the places, the images, or the heart of anything that appears in both the movie and this story.

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><p>3. Discoveries<p>

Raphael and his family were nice an all, but that one child… ugh, I couldn't help but wince a bit at the dull pain that still resided on several parts of my body, each precisely where a feather should have been. Still Raphael seemed nicer than most of the other birds I had met thus far. Maybe this Luiz would be able to help after all.

While I was thinking, the leg I had just stepped onto was nearly yanked from under me as Jewel pulled the chain in a "subtle" reminder to hurry up. Regaining my balance and realizing I had in fact been moving slowly. I doubled my pace to catch up with the other two birds, trying not to look at Jewel in the process.

I had finally heard her laugh. Last night when I finally proved myself useful by pulling us both up the gazebo, I had finally heard a softer emotion than the disappointment and anger I had only seen from her before. I was just glad that she had a nice side, it gives me hope that maybe we can at least be acquaintance birds.

"So I haven't seen macaws of your color around here, we have plenty of scarlets, greens, and blue golds around here, but I've never seen your colors before." Raphael commented in an attempt to start conversation.

"We-we're the last two of our species." The answer was obvious, I couldn't help but speak up, I just wish I hadn't.

Raphael let out a laugh "I knew it! I knew you two were destined for-"

"We're Strictly chained to each other birds!" Jewel interrupted before Raphael could finish his sentence. The glare she gave me as she said it sent chills down my spine and overshadowed my memories of her laughter. She was still the caged bird trying to escape and her glare made it obvious that I was acting as her cage.

I sputtered out an agreement, dropping behind the other two birds, hoping not to anger her further. I had only spoken truth, but I guess that doesn't count for much out here. The glare had told me something that any word never could, something made Jewel despise anything that held her back, anything that restrained her. But I'll be honest, I could not care less about what made her that way. Instead I chose to focus on the more prominent discovery. It was painful, but the truth was, with this chain, I was her cage and she despised me…

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><p>It was a stormy evening. The tree outside ran its branches against the back of our house as the storm prematurely ripped the autumn leaves from it. Normally I would have been mildly concerned about the brewing storm. I had read enough to know that even here in Minnesota, violent storms were possible. Tonight however, I wouldn't have cared if a tornado swept right through town. Ok, ok I would have cared, but tonight was Friday night.<p>

Not long ago, Linda and I had created a tradition. She was usually free on Friday evening and I, being, well myself was always free. So, in honor of this, Friday nights became Discovery nights. We would spend the entire evening watching Discovery channel. Honestly, its one of the coolest traditions ever.

Just as the sky began to darken for the evening, Linda collapsed into the seat next to me on the couch. With a large bowl in hand, she clicked the TV on and smiled at me with a mouth full of popcorn she had just stuffed into her face.

I couldn't help but smile back at the ridiculousness of her expression. I stepped over onto her shoulder and she offered me a piece of popcorn. Taking it, we began to watch our shows. We hadn't been watching long when Linda looked over at me and burst out laughing. Had I done something? I glanced down trying to find the source of her amusement. When that proved fruitless, I looked back at her questioningly. Suppressing her laughter she reached over and pulled a kernel shell that had become well acquainted with the top of my beak. I ruffled my feathers and pretended to ignore her by watching the show. Secretly I was planning revenge.

It was later in the evening when I saw my chance. I now stood on her head. She was engrossed with the current TV segment on the making of plastic bottles. I grinned to myself at the plan that I had been forming most of the evening. I gripped the kernel shell I was holding and decided it was time to strike.

Grabbing the kernel in my beak I leaned forward over her forehead. I would have to be quick if this was going to work. Carefully I lowered myself towards the bridge of her nose.

"What are you doing?" she asked, moving to look up at me.

Her inadvertent movement caught me off guard and I lost my balance. With a quick squawk of surprise I suddenly found myself looking up at Linda from the inside of the popcorn bowl. This of course did nothing for my revenge plot and only served to give Linda another chance to laugh until she cried at my expense.

With an indignant huff I rolled of and hopped out of the bowl. The next thirty minutes were spent cleaning up. I focused on getting the popcorn out of my feathers while Linda attempted to pick up the popcorn that was now strewn all across the room. Finally, when all my feathers were once again pristine and almost all the kernels had been cleaned up, we continued watching our shows.

I awoke to find Linda asleep and the TV still on. I was about to wake her when something blue caught my eye on the TV. It was a bird, like me. I mean it looked exactly like me. It was flying over the jungle canopy while the camera panned in order to keep up.

"_This is one of the Amazon's more magnificent birds, The Spix's macaw. This beautiful creature was named after the German Naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix. Unfortunately the decline of the-"_

I was so enraptured by the sight of another bird like me that I failed to notice Linda's mom come in until she turned the TV off. Dumbfounded, by this discovery I did nothing when Linda awoke and took me back to my cage.

Sleep evaded me that night as the image of the macaw continued to soar through my head. I had never questioned what I was or where I came from, but now, now the questions wouldn't leave my mind.

Finally in the dead of night as the storm finally called down, I made up my mind. I unlocked my cage and cringed as the door swung open much louder than usual. I hopped out and crept across Linda's desk, watching her bed the entire time for movement. The soft glow of the computer she had gotten for her birthday this year lent its light to help me reach it. With a couple taps on the keyboard, also much louder then they had ever been before, I entered her password.

The screen loaded and the picture of Linda holding the spelling bee trophy filled the computer's background. I clicked on the Internet icon and waited for what seemed like ages for the dial-up to connect. Finally when I could swear I was seeing grey on my feathers the page had loaded. A couple more loud taps of the keyboard and I had all the information on my species I could want.

The wealth of new information on me was almost overbearing, but I read it all. Only when I finished did I notice the link to an update. With one click, my demeanor changed. In bright red letters, the words "Declared Extinct" filled the top of the screen. Th-That couldn't be! I continued to read. Apparently deforestation and trapping had rendered those like me extinct.

I was shattered. Without another look I made my way back to my cage. There was just no way! Was I really the only one? That night I couldn't sleep. I did however, manage to pick up a habit that took me months to break. As I sat in my cage thinking, mulling over what this all meant I absently grabbed a feather from my chest and plucked it. This continued most of the night.

The Next morning came with a myriad of phone calls by Linda, who was trying to figure out why I had bald spots on my chest. It was only after a long drawn out talk over the phone, with what had to be my physician, that Linda came over to my cage.

She looked me over with a troubled expression. I couldn't even make eye contact with her.

"I can tell something is wrong Blu. The vet says it's a stress thing." She paused, thinking about something. "Please, tell me what's what it is, I'm here for you."

I finally looked at her. The concern on her face hurt me as much as my feather plucking hurt her. I halfheartedly motioned towards her computer. Confused, she looked it over, assuming it was something about the computer that had upset me. When she knocked the mouse, the screen woke up and showed her exactly what it had shown me. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she read and realized what I was going through.

"Blu, I didn't know; Oh Blu." She consoled. She reached over and let me climb onto her soft arm where she rubbed my beak.

Looking at the love in her eyes, I couldn't help but smile. I may be alone as far as my species went, but I was accepted and loved by Linda.


	4. HalfBaked Courage

**A/N: Wow, this turned out to be a long one, hopefully I can make the length a normal occurrence from now on. If that's the case I may need to rewrite the previous chapters. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been reading this, or watching it, I can't tell you how encouraging it is to see at least a few people take interest into this story. **

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Enjoy!**

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><p>4. Half-Baked Bravery<p>

The throbbing only diminished slightly as I rubbed the back of my head. I could have hit an umbrella or even the sand, but no, as my luck would show, it would be the surfboard that became so closely acquainted with my head. But, I was alive, which admittedly, was a step above where I figured I would be by now.

I laid the back of my head gingerly onto one of the melons and watched the cars behind us drive along. I try as I might, I could not relax, the rush of flying was still in me and I couldn't help but replay those few moments on the hang glider. Those few moments of flight and freedom in the sky, were exhilarating, but the person I had been with was even more so.

The other two birds must have noticed the way I was daydreaming because soon enough the toucan made his way over to my side.

"How was it me amigo? I know it wasn't strictly flying, but surely you got the idea."

"It was i-incredible!" I stammered, still dazed. "The wind, the rush, the view, everything was so cool!" It was true, all of it, had made an impact on me, I just couldn't let it go. This was why birds flew. Jewel made her way over to me, a slight smirk on her face.

"I'm impressed with you, on the glider I mean, It looked like you were actually having fun!"

Jewel never said much to me, well she did, but most of it involved anger. But that, that was a compliment, coming from Jewel's beak. I didn't even speak I could only look beyond the truck bed.

"You may fly yet, meu campanheiro" Raphael exclaimed as the toucan came between us pulling me up to my feet and putting his wings around our shoulders. "Blu I'm excited to see you standing up to your fears, literally." He continued, referring to my bold move to stand up on the glider. "You've shown some courage today."

"Don't forget stupidity" the female macaw added while removing herself from Raphael's hug. "what were you thinking, why did you open your wings?"

I replayed the scene in my head. The sight was incredible. The rush, the joy was unbelievable! I had glanced over at Jewel. She was standing, enjoying the ride with the most beautiful smile. I closed my eyes hoping to enjoy the moment as well. The next thing I knew, we were falling.

"I-I don't know, I wasn't thinking I guess." That was a lie.

"Not thinking! Blu, you could have killed us! Besides, I've been with you for nearly a day, I have yet to see you not thinking!"

I shrugged Raphael's wing off my shoulder and walked to the edge of the truck. "You're right, it was stupid of me."

Jewel's face softened, "Blu, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on you like that, besides no har-"

"No, you're right, it was dumb of me, I should have been thinking, but I wasn't… I was in love." The last part just slipped out before I could catch it. Jewel stared blankly at me, in shock at my statement. "with the experience." I added quickly. I shuffled my feet nervously, but her demeanor softened again and she let out a sigh.

If you ever want to divert an angry female Spix's macaw, I have learned recently that talk of flying, the experience of, the action of, and the feeling of, are all excellent subjects to break into.

"I know how you feel Blu. I really do." Jewel replied while she watched the sky. "Ever since I was little, I've loved the sky. It's been my passion just to be in it, to enjoy it. It's honestly the most beautiful thing ever."

I was looking at her. I didn't really catch what she said, but I agreed hoping to continue watching her smile. She looked back at me for a second before she turned away.

She glanced back at me. "Just think next time, that sort of thing can get you killed."

I shook my head, I knew, believe me, I knew.

* * *

><p>"You know I don't like change Linda. Come on, one more night" I protested as she walked me down the stairs.<p>

My pleas fell on deaf ears as she heartlessly continued down the wooden steps towards the front room. "Blu, you know you've outgrown the other cage, you can't stay in it anymore."

I sucked my gut in and continued to beg, "can't we move the cage upstairs?"

She grabbed my off her head and looked me in the eye. "Blu, I know it's cold down here, but I've set up a space heater for the night, you'll be fine." She scratched the top of my head "Tomorrow we'll see about getting the cage upstairs, but for now I need you to be a big boy, and tough it out for one night."

I gave into her argument even though the first part had nothing to do with the situation. Linda gently placed me on the perch in the new cage and shut the door. She was right, this was more spacious; maybe I could get used to this. I turned around as she placed the space heater next to the cage. Putting on an unhappy face, I silently stared her down.

"Goodnight Blu." She said softly, un-phased by the show I was putting on.

I sighed, listening to her footsteps as she made her way back upstairs to her room. The cage wasn't that bad to be honest. It was larger, all the stuff inside was new and clean. The flooring was even today's newspaper. With another sigh, I grudgingly settled in for the night.

I wasn't long before I began to understand her comment about it being cold down here. Every time I heard the wind blow, I felt a draft of cold air come from the window in the front room. It wasn't long before I was sick of the intermittent air conditioning I had been receiving. Looking down at the paper, I had an idea. Quickly I climbed down and tore the paper into strips. Grabbing a mouthful of what had been the sports section, I unlocked my cage and began my trek to the front window.

It wasn't a large gap, but it seemed that some of the weather stripping had been torn off. With a shiver, I set the pile of news strips down and began to work. I couldn't help but praise my ingenuity as I tucked each strip into the gap. About halfway through, I took a step back to admire the work; each piece had been carefully wedged into place and was being held in snugly. At this rate, I would be warmly asleep in no time. I reached over to grab another strip from the pile; to my dismay there were no strips.

I am not a forgetful bird, I knew for a fact that I still had a dozen or so strips of paper. I turned around, the strips of paper were now spread across the living room. I sighed, realizing I was not going to catch a break tonight I picked up the nearest one and walked it back to the window still hoping to get the job done.

This entire time, I had been working by the soft blue light of the streetlamp outside and the dim red glow of the space heater inside. Grumbling at my misfortune, I was so focused on getting the gap in the window closed that it took me a minute or so to realize that the dim red glow had become a bright light that lit the room. When I looked up, I froze. Gulping down my fear I witnessed the space heater become a small inferno as several strips of paper caught themselves in its coils. I panicked.

"Linda! Linda! F-Fire!"

I called frantically for nearly a minute with no response. I continued to call for nearly a minute, but when the fire spread to the paper in my cage I decided to get a little pushier.

I don't ever recall the climb up the staircase taking as long as it did this night. I arrived up top, out of breath but still full of energy. I burst into Linda's room, hoping to startle her like one of those TV dramas her mom always watched. I cursed my small size when I realized the only sound I had made was the rustle of my feathers.

"Linda! There's a fire! Help!"

She stirred for a moment and moaned, "Go to bed Blu, I need you to be brave for me. The cage isn't that bad."

I crowed in frustration until I saw one of her blankets touching the floor. After another excruciatingly long climb that couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds I was at the foot of her bed. The red glow could now be seen dimly through the cracked door. I made my way up to her face.

She wasn't listening to my calls, I began to think. The idea came to me and with an apology I bit down on her nose.

Her eyes opened, "Oww! Blu! What are you doing?" She exclaimed as she grabbed me and pulled me from her face. She fumbled for her glasses and put them on, feeling the bridge of her nose in the process. "Tyler Blu, what's going on with you tonight?" She set me down, and gave me a stern look expecting some sort of explanation.

I backed away from her and frantically started explaining. "!" The blank expression on her face told me that the message wasn't getting through. With as frustrated sigh, I turned and pointed to her door. She stared at the door for several seconds before she made any indication of understanding. She finally got up and went to the door. Her back was turned to me as she looked out into the hall, but I still heard the words escape her lips, "cheese and sprinkles"

"Mom! Mom! Fire! Fire!" Linda called out as she ran to her mom's room. I assume that she had more success calling than I did because it was only seconds when she burst back into her room and grabbed me off the bed. Her mom led the way as we all rushed down the stairs to the front door. I only caught a glimpse of the front room as we rushed through the foyer and out the door, but I was sure that the inferno had spread to most of the room.

We watched quietly as firemen attempted to rescue our home as it became engulfed in flames. Neither Linda nor her mom said anything, they only held onto each other watching. I was just glad that everyone had made it out. I sat on Linda's shoulder watching the firemen work when Linda gave a start.

"Dad!" was all she got out before she started sobbing.

I never knew Lieutenant Gunderson, but I knew what she meant when she said his name. She explained to me some time ago that he had been overseas. Most of what he did was classified, and he wasn't home often, but when he was, Mr. Gunderson had always been with Linda; that is, until he didn't return. He had been declared K.I.A about a year before Linda and I found each other. All she had left of him was one family picture. It was kind of a keepsake that resided in the foyer, always welcoming the family in.

I don't know what I was thinking, actually, I couldn't have been thinking, but I jumped off Linda's shoulder and ran across the street. I heard Linda call out, but I continued, I was on a mission.

I cannot describe the noise of fire. It was jarring, and constant, similar to the roar of a waterfall, like the ones I had seen on TV. This roar however was more malevolent, more haunting. I made my way inside the door which had been broken down by firemen. Careful to avoid splinters I cautiously trekked into the foyer. Smoke poured into the room, trying to escape through the open door. The fire had spread quickly and now engulfed most of the upper and lower rooms.

The foyer steamed, The fire fighters earlier attempts to control the blaze had spared the foyer by soaking it, but the water had begun to evaporate, it wouldn't protect the room for long.

The table the picture sat on was an elaborately carved wooden piece that apparently made good décor. I had never liked the design, but tonight I adored it, the detailed carvings made it easy to climb and I was on top in seconds. The difference in temperature up on the table compared to the floor was enormous. I moved quickly, shoving the picture frame off the table. I heard a crash and the tinkle of broken glass. Looking over the edge I saw the picture frame broken and the picture lying under the debris.

Climbing down, I rushed over to the broken frame and pulled the paper from the pile of glass and wood. I began to work my claws, rolling the picture up. Grabbing it in my beak I looked back at the front door in time to see the roof to our small porch collapse. With that option taken away I began to panic.

I looked down at the ground thinking as fast as I could. I heard some loud groans and creaks above me. Shaking my head I made my decision, I would try the back. As I turned, another explosion caught my ear over the roar of the flames. I looked up in time to see the ceiling rushing towards me. The rush I felt as I saw the end froze me…

I was flying, well not really. The green fabric beneath me rippled slightly in the breeze. The sensation was glorious! The thrill! The blue sky, the way the wind caressed my feathers. I looked over and saw Jewel. She was standing to my side, peaceful, engulfed in the sensation, but more importantly she was smiling. Words could not describe the beauty of her sm-

I shook my head and the melon truck bounced along the road, its exhaust popping every now and then when the engine misfired. I sat in confusion staring down at the road below. Jewel and Raphael talked quietly behind me, but I couldn't make out their words. It wasn't right, why did that suddenly come to mind. I shook my head again as I recalled what actually happened…

My brief life flashed before my eyes. The fall, the cold loneliness, Linda's warmth, and how her love kept me up-

The crash was deafening as the ceiling hit the ground of the foyer. The force shoved me back into the front room. I looked down at myself stunned that I was alive. A few feathers were charred, but I was alive. It then hit me, I looked over to the same window I had just earlier tried to close. It was wide open. The glass had long since shattered.

Hope, having returned to my feathers and giving my legs the strength to move, I climbed up the charred table and leapt out the broken window. I hit the ground hard and heard the paper rip as I bit down in pain. I looked across the road, hoping to see Linda.

She must have seen me, before I had gotten to the street, I was grabbed up in a tight hug. I could hear her breath as she sobbed and felt her tears roll into my feathers. Her mother was pulling us back, away from the house. When we were far enough away, Linda still wouldn't let go, my feathers were now thoroughly soaked on the side that was against her face. She was whispering quietly between sobs, speaking of worry, and loss, pain, and fear.

It was Ms. Gunderson who first noticed the picture I still held in my beak. She gently grabbed it and I let go, nuzzling into Linda's cheek. Linda's mom stared at me before shaking her head.

"foolhardy just like my husband" she muttered before moving to sit on the curb.

Hours later, the sun began to rise behind us casting an eerie light on the steaming husk that had been our house. Linda had just fallen asleep leaning against Ms. Gunderson, a blanket wrapped tightly around her body.

Ms. Gunderson was sitting silently with me on her shoulder and an arm around her girl. In her other hand she held the photo. As the sun rose, I began to look at the picture more closely. It was ripped and charred, the color had faded and it now looked much older than it actually was.

The picture itself was of Mr. and Mrs. Gunderson standing behind their daughter, as she held what could only be her first spelling bee ribbon. Mr. Gunderson was dressed in formal military attire. I wished I had known him, he seemed like a good man, and Linda like him. I was about to try to sleep when one more thing caught my eye. I could barely make it out, in the faded color, but I could just see his nametag.

I leaned in for a closer look. Ms. Gunderson noticed and brought the picture closer to me. I was stunned, I had never seen it before. What the nametag read shocked me

"Lt. Tyler Gunderson"


	5. Doing What's Right

**A/N: Ok, this was a tough one to write, I kept getting distracted and pre-occupied. Still I managed to get it done on schedule. Thanks again to everyone who had been reading, I love to see people enjoying my humble story. I hope this doesn't feel too rushed, but I really didn't want to make this chapter longer than it already is. If it does feel rushed, let me know and I may re-write it down the road**.

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Anything else is mine, Enjoy!**

5. Doing What's Right

What a gorgeous night. The sky is a clear deep blue lightly dusted with the emerging stars. The moon is full and bright, its brilliant light nearly outlines the entire countryside. The city lights sparkle off the sea below shimmering, creating another more water-bound night sky. Romantic, that would be the word to sum it up in.

I couldn't care less; to be honest, I didn't even notice any of the evening's beauty. I had been stolen from; a thief had come and stolen it when I had my back turned. But I am determined, I will get my Jewel back.

I shook my head at the cheesiness of that thought. It was as if I was in one of those cheesy romance adventure movies that Linda enjoyed. But it was the truth. There were many things, I was realizing that I thought I'd never do. One for, example was riding in a fruit hat that a dog wore while he ran down a street. Seriously, never thought that would happen. Then again, I never thought I would screw up so massively either. I looked down at myself, how could I have been so stupid?

"If you love her, let her go." The thought had crept into my mind as I watched Jewel and the others fly in the warm night air. The thought felt foreign, but it seeped in making itself at home. I didn't belong here; who was I kidding, I was only holding her back, I'm her cage. My heart fought back: what if Raphael was right? Weren't we made to be togeth- Of course you were, but you want her to be happy don't you? You're hindering her happiness. See her joy up there? If you truly loved her, you would let her go.

I found myself walking away, I was right, I had been holding her back, I couldn't bear to chain her down for the rest of her life. It was then I was stopped by her beautiful voice. She was stammering, I knew what she was trying to ask. If I had just said yes! But that voice, it nagged at my mind. I had to let her go. I cut her off before she could finish, before she could admit she wanted me to stay.

"What? That you...you'd come to Minnesota? Great! I guess I-I'll knit you a scarf." I had meant to be sarcastic, but she didn't pick up on it. Her body dropped a bit and she stared at the ground.

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Look, Jewel, I can't spend my life, walking around following you wherever you're going"

The pain in her eyes lasted only a moment, a moment that tore my heart. Before, I could change my mind, take what I said back, her demeanor changed "Hey, it's not my fault you can't fly!" she replied defensively.

I looked away, she was right, it was my fault, my fault I couldn't fly; she wouldn't be happy with a flightless bird. It was here that Raphael tried to help us out. I'd always be grateful for Raphael's help today, but he just didn't get it, no one got it. If any of us were going to be happy, I couldn't be here. Frustrated, I blurted out the most honest and stupid thing I had ever said.

"You want honesty? Fine. Fine, I can be honest. I don't belong here. In fact, I never wanted to come here in the first place. And...and...and you know what? I hate Samba!" The words tumbled out of my mouth, I'll admit, even then I knew the Samba thing was going a bit far, but it made my point. _If you love her, then let her go_. My chest ached, but it would help her be happy. She'd forget me and move on. She would be happy.

How foolish I've been. I hadn't let her go, I had pushed her away, allowed her to get taken! The fruit hat shifted slightly , breaking my concentration as Louis ran towards Carnival. _If you love her, let her go_, that thought, wasn't my own, it was from a person I dearly tried to forget. No, Raphael had reminded me; family loved each other, more importantly, one fought for love, I truly loved her… I loved Jewel, I would fight for her, sacrifice for her, just like Linda had done for me.

The afternoon sun reflected brightly off the snow and into the shop window. It provided a wonderful backlight for the novel I was currently working through. I sighed contentedly enjoying the afternoon with my book and my cup of cocoa. Things were going so well.

The bookstore had become our home since the fire last November. After everything had been cleared with insurance, the family had decided to renovate the old bookshop rather than buy a new house. The entire summer had been filled with woodwork, painting and running pipes to make the upstairs a livable home. The shop facelift even earned the bookstore a new name. Thanks to Linda the store was no longer called "Moose Lake Legers" but now "Blue Macaw Books" this was fine by me, but I wasn't too fond of my face one the window; I don't know I think it's the beak, they got the beak wrong.

I was just enjoying the day, beginning the next chapter when a discussion between Mrs. Gunderson and her sister Lisa became heated. Lisa Sullivan, or auntie Lisa, as she insisted on being called that, was Lt Tyler Gunderson's older sister and unfortunately Linda's aunt. She was a little shorter than Linda and possessed "hefty" curves. She was staying with us for a couple weeks while the divorce papers were signed.

I didn't bother paying mind to the argument as the two women rarely saw eye to eye and bickering like this was a daily occurrence. I did however turn my head when Mrs. Gunderson mentioned my name during the squabble. I placed my book down and turned my head hoping I could hear some of the argument.

"She's doing fine Lisa, I don't know why you're so worked up about their relationship."

"I'm telling you, he is bad news for her. I never see those two with a group of people, if their together, no one else is ever around. It's un-healthy for a girl her age, she should have more friends than just him."

"She does have friends Lisa, the only time you see them together is here, and that's only been this past week."

"It's been nearly every day though" Lisa's voice strained " It's unhealthy for them to spend that much time together even here."

"They love each other, Lisa, it's nothing to worry about; besides Blu is always with her, always has been, always will. It's been that way since Tyler died." Mrs Gunderson replied quietly, choking up a bit at the mention of her late husband's name.

I stepped back from the edge of the shelf that I'd found myself leaning over attempting to listen. Sitting back I tried to work out the argument. Obviously, the argument was about John. He and Linda had been friends for several years, their close friendship had turned into a relationship several months ago in August. John was a nice boy, he always greeted me and loved to come to the bookstore. He was about the same height as Linda and had brown hair cut perfectly in a bowl. At least he had that until he admitted to us that he was a rebel for growing it longer than his mom wanted.

I was still confused, why did auntie Lisa hate John? More so, why did care enough to stick her nose into it? I scratched my beak, thoroughly puzzled. Yeah John had been over most everyday this week, but they were planning for prom tomorrow night, surely Lisa understood that. On top of that Linda's mom was right, I was there with Linda, I wasn't going to let anything happen.

My thoughts were interrupted by auntie Lisa's shouts. "She's what! This is because of him isn't it?"

"Calm down Lisa, this isn't the end of the world, and no, I'm sure he's part of the reason, but I can assure you he's not the only reason." Mrs. Gunderson replied casually

"Don't tell me to calm down! She was accepted to Cambridge, she was going to be happy, go where she dreamed! You're letting her throw all that away for some useless piece of s-"

I was beginning to understand, Linda had recently accepted enrollments at Carlton College in Northfield. Lisa must have discovered this and was obviously upset that Linda had chosen Carlton over Cambridge.

I sighed and stretched my wings, reminding myself that Lisa was only here a few more nights. The front bell gave a soft ring to let us know that someone had entered. I turned to see Linda and pile of bags walk in.

Linda walked over to me and rubbed my head "Hi Blu, how was your day?" I pushed against her hand, enjoying the massage. She turned back to the door. "I'm sorry John; please, just set those down, I'll take care of them. I know you gotta get to work."

John let out a quiet sigh of relief as he set the burden down. Hiding his labored breathing he smiled, and planted a quick kiss on Linda's cheek. The young man turned to me, "Sorry I can't stay Blu, I gotta work tonight. But, before I go, I wanna see if you remember what I taught you." He put his fist towards me and waited. Knowing what he wanted, I balled my foot and put it against his hand. He smiled at me and turned to leave.

"Ohh! There's the cute couple!" Lisa's sickly sweet voice rang out as she ambled down the stairs. "You two will be the cutest couple there.

"Thanks Mrs. Sullivan" John stammered "I-I'm sorry I can't stay and talk, but I don't want to be late for work.

"Oh its ok hun, I'm on my way to the store anyway." Lisa replied reaching the bottom of the stairs as John made his way out the door and Linda went up the stairs to greet her mother.

As soon as Linda was out of earshot and John was down the street, Lisa rushed up to me. "You!" I backed away from her knobby finger, confused I checked behind me before looking back to her.

"You are ruining Linda's life, she has a chance to make something of herself, but no, she's going to throw it all away from you. If you truly loved her and wanted her to be happy, you'd leave, let her go to Cambridge." She turned from me huffing angrily. "I can't believe I'm talking to a parrot!"

"Hey! That's not cool! I'm a macaw, thank you very much!" I replied defensively.

She visibly shivered "Quit squawking! You filthy bird." She turned and huffed out the door muttering under her breath.

It took me a minute to process what had just happened. Suddenly it all clicked. It wasn't John they were arguing over, it was me. Lisa thought I was holding Linda back! My feathers rose in anger, the nerve of that woman. Living in our house! Eating our, well, their food! She had the nerve to try to break us apart!

I sat on the shelf, flustered, thinking of how much I despised that woman. She could not be more wrong, Linda and I had a close relationship, but she would never let me get in the way of her plans.

The phone rang.

"Hey John… you got off early? Wow, they must have been really slow… Really? I'd love to! Oh wait, tonight's Friday. I'm sorry, I can't, Blu and I have a tradition every Friday night… I know, but you work Friday's I never thought to tell you… John, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. This is kind of our thing and Blu doesn't like change. you remember how long it took him to get used to you… Thanks John, you're the best!... See you tomorrow!"

I heard everything. My heart sunk. She had just avoided plans with John for our silly tradition. I felt light headed, what if Lisa was right? Was I keeping Linda from being truly happy?

It was a chilly morning, the front window to the store had fogged up and was now only letting light trickle in. I yawned and stretched my wings for the umpteenth time. Aunt Lisa's words still floated in my head. The more I thought about it, the more evidence surfaced. Soon I could name dozens of times Linda had put away her plans for me. I finally admitted it, I was keeping her from reaching her potential.

While still drowning in my tired thoughts, Aunt Lisa lumbered down the stairs humming a song horribly off key, basking in delight as music itself began whimper and die. She looked over at me and froze. She stood there like a morbidly obese deer caught in a semi's headlights. She then turned her necks back and forth, looking, ensuring no one else was around, before she sauntered over to my cage.

"Linda sure is excited about prom tonight, she and my sister went to get her all made up for the event. It is so nice to see her happy, wouldn't you agree." Before I could respond, she continued. "I heard you two spent some quality time last night. I do hope john didn't mind."

She eyed me suspiciously and continued "You look blue, little bird. Careful, if Linda sees you like this, she may call off her big night to care for you… I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday, it was uncivilized of me. I feel I must make it up to you. I'll tell you what, I'll help you both out, since you seem down, let me take you to a friend of mine. She has several other birds, you can do all sorts of, I don't know, bird things together. You can relax over there while Linda can focus on that big night of hers tonight. You're happy she's happy we'll all be happy."

She opened my cage and placed her arm in front of me. I looked at her, thinking, trying to make a decision. "Let her go Blu, If you love her, it's the only way you both can be happy." I closed my eyes and stepped forward onto her sleeve.

"Good job Blu, very selfless" She soothed as she took me to her car. Once inside she continued to lay down praise for my behavior. "Just think Blu, this will do wonders for your relationship. Linda will be so grateful." Her sappy commendations continued through the trip.

I sat on Lisa's large shoulders as we walked in the door of her friends shop. The room was colored brightly and had a front desk. It wasn't too bad, I thought, Lisa's friend owned a nice store. I continued to survey the room until I saw the sign behind the desk. My wings dropped and I nearly fell from her shoulder. Lisa had taken me to Moose Lake animal shelter. She was getting rid of me! The vile woman had guilt tripped me.

Before I could protest Lisa grabbed me and handed me over to a shelter volunteer. I was carried to the adjacent room and put into a cage. I could hear Lisa and someone else conversing.

"He's just been so sick recently and well, with work picking up, I just can't spend time caring for him. The poor thing can't even fly anymore, his wings aren't even clipped. I just don't want to see him-" Lisa cut her sentence short as she faked a sob.

"It's ok Mrs… Gunderson, we'll take care of him. If our vet sees he's suffering, we'll take care of it, it will be peaceful and quick." Lisa chose this moment to begin bawling. "Shh shh, he'll be fine, here let me walk you to your car. I heard the door open and close then there was nothing but silence.

I rushed to the cage door, hoping to find a way out. The door was padlocked. I crumpled with a sigh. It was no use, I berated myself for not finishing those articles on lock-picking.

The day wore on into early evening, I had managed to sleep most of the afternoon, but was woken occasionally by shelter door opening and closing. It opened again, I sighed, wishing I could just sleep in peace, at least then I might dream of being with Linda again. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable conversation to begin as another customer would come in asking how to adopt a puppy.

"Excuse, I lost my bird, he flew away this morning when my aunt left the door open, can you please help me?" My eyes snapped open; that was Linda's voice!

"can you please describe your bird?"

"Well he's a blue macaw."

"Ma'am, many species of exotic birds are blue. You're going to need to be more specific."

"He's all blue, everything about him! Even his name! I named him Blu! We named a bookstore after him!" Linda replied slapping her palms loud enough so I could hear.

"Linda! I'm in here! Get me out of here!" I called straining against the bars.

"Blu! I hear you! That's my bird! The one squawking in that room! I'd recognize his voice anywhere!"

"Ma'am I can assure you that that is not your bird. He is blue in color, but the owner surrendered him to us this morning. You said your bird flew away, The bird in that room is sick and cannot currently fly."

"Wait, who turned him in?"

"Let's see, a Ms. Gunderson I believe."

"I'm Ms. Gunderson! let me see my Blu!"

"Calm down ma'am if you really think that is your bird, I'm going to need you to come back with some evidence. Vet papers, breed pedigree, anything that will prove that he is yours."

"Can't you let me just see him for a second?"

"Ma'am I need to close up for the day, you can come back on Monday and see him if you can prove he is your bird."

I heard her sigh in frustration and open the front door. "I love you Blu! I'm coming back, I promise." She called as the door closed and I heard the deadbolt slide.

I gripped the concrete perch, too stunned to move. I knew Linda would come, but something wasn't right, it was quiet, way too quiet for an animal shelter.

"That's cause it ain't." A raspy voice said from below. I had been thinking aloud.

"I'm sorry, I-I just think aloud when I'm nervous. W-Wait who, what are you?" I stammered

"It's ok, you have a right to be nervous, this ain't no shelter; the real shelter is up north in Duluth, this is more of a pest control. We'll both be lucky to live through the weekend. Names Rusty by the way."

"B-Blu. My names Blu. How do you know about this place, why are you here?"

"I lost my brother to this blasted place a couple years ago. I'm here because a lady busted my wing; apparently humans aren't forgiving when us hawks mistake their pets for a large rodent."

"Wait, you're that hawk? The one that attacked Mrs. Leeman's Chihuahua? I read about you in the news, they said you were going to an avian sanctuary to recover."

"Well this is one heck of a sanctuary, I ain't never heard of a bird leaving this place alive."

I sighed and leaned back against the bars of the cage. "Linda will come, she promised."

"Whatever gives you hope kid." I heard a rustle of feathers and the click of Rusty's talons as he walked to the back of his cage.

The sky had darkened and left the cage room dark. The only light came faintly from crack at the bottom of the door. I had just begun to settle for the night. I was thoroughly frustrated that I couldn't figure out how to open the lock. Still I knew Linda would come for me. Come Monday morning, this whole thing would blow over.

A soft "clink" came from outside the room. This was followed by the creak and subtle ring of the bell as the front door moved it out of the way. The bell rang again notifying everyone that the door closed. Suddenly the door to our room opened.

Standing in the door, bathed by the soft ambient light of the flood lamp outside stood Linda. She was in her lavender prom dress, her hair was done and she looked stunning. Even the bolt cutters she held at her side did not detract from the beauty of my rescuer.

She rushed over and cut the lock with a grunt. Opening the door she grabbed me in a tight embrace. "Oh Blu, It's good to have you back!" Remembering that she was committing a felony, she placed me on her shoulder and turned towards the door. I looked back before jumping off her shoulder, landing on the ground, harder than I expected. "Blu, what are you doing? We need to go!" She whispered hurriedly.

I looked back at her and pointed to the cage Rusty was in. There was no way I'd leave any animal here. Finally getting my gesture she rushed over and cut the lock holding Rust in. He hopped out, looking more confused than anything. "Come on! If you wanna get out of here, now is your chance." Without looking back, I rushed back to Linda and she picked me up again. She held both doors while the injured hawk made his way out and into the nearby bushes. As Linda ran to her car, I heard the bell clink once more as the door closed.

When she was several miles down the road, she stopped the car and embraced me before asking If her best friend would want to see what Prom was like. I nodded just happy to be with her again.

The beat of drums and maraca's brought me back from my thoughts. The city streets were filled with dancers and life. I could see many birds perched above, enjoying the music. Linda's action had consequences. Auntie Lisa conveniently left the next day. John, unhappy at being third wheel to a bird at his senior Prom, broke up with Linda. Charges were never brought against Linda, but the "shelter" was up for lease by the end of the month.

As Luis began to slow, arriving at the parade, I thought of all Linda had done and risked for me, and all that I would do and risk for Jewel, my Jewel. Aunt Lisa had been completely wrong, If you love something you don't let it go. No, If you love it, you fight for it, with everything you've got. Linda had done that for me. I only hoped I still had time to do that for Jewel.

**A/N: Alright, this concludes my planned back stories. Sad right, however There is still an entire story to re-tell and conclude! Fear not, there is still much more coming! Stay Tuned!**


	6. Spirited

**A/N at end of chapter.**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Anything else is mine, Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>6. Spirited<p>

The intermittent ticking of Tulio's fingers as they labored away on the keyboard was oddly soothing. As I sat perched on his shoulder, I could close my eyes and almost envision the bookstore bathed in the evening light as Linda typed of her daily expenses. I let out a deep breath, enjoying the peace and order that had only recently returned.

I glanced around the small cluttered office. Tulio's dedication to his work had not extended to keeping his workplace tidy. Empty milkshake cups and scrap pieces of paper littered his desk and floor. Linda's suitcase still sat, untouched on one of the office chairs. Based on the events of the past couple of days, she must not have bothered once Jewel and I disappeared.

Linda was currently at the U.S. embassy. The police had arrived soon after I had landed with Jewel. The initial questioning had been frustrating. Tulio had finally requested that a police car escort him to the conservatory so he could at least help Jewel while he was questioned. After some arguing, they agreed. Linda on the other hand was asked to report to the Embassy. They were interested in the American involvement of the recent events. No doubt something to do with the Carnival float that now laid in pieces on the tarmac.

Only after the police had gotten their answers and Jewel had been left to rest in the observation room did things become calm. Jewel had been very trusting this afternoon, taking shots and letting Tulio work on her wing. It was only when they moved and bandaged it that I thought she might fight back, but she had instead watched me intently, even through the pain. Tulio had given her some pain medication and let her sleep.

The ticking of the keyboard stopped and Tulio looked over to me. "There, if this email gets through, we can ensure there will be no more poaching in at least one part of the jungle." He leaned back suddenly throwing me off-balance while he grinned at his idea's possible results. Just as I was getting comfortable, a small alarm began to buzz. Tulio sat forward, earning a displeased squawk from me, and turned the noise off.

"Time to make our rounds." He told me as he and I exited his office. "I'm just going to check on a couple patients, then I'm going to drop you off with Jewel, It's probably better she wake up with you than alone."

He's right, if there was only one thing I had learned about my Jewel, it was that she did not like cages. Tulio walked into what he called, the nursery; it was the same room I had first learned of Jewel's "spirit" and where the majority of birds were kept and treated. As Tulio checked the wings, beaks, and feet of several birds, I watched him work. Though he had strange quirks and stranger techniques for relating with the birds, he was very professional with his medicine. Everything I watched him doing, from medicating sores to imping feathers, I could recall his method exactly from a number of books.

About halfway through his treatment I began to notice a macaw watching me. I ignored it at first, but the memory of Nigel brought my focus back to him. I must have been staring intently for Tulio to have noticed. "I see you want to meet our newest rescue. His owner dropped him off with a co-worker several days ago."

"Hi." I said cautiously. "Sorry, I don't want to sound rude, but why are you staring at me"

The blue and gold macaw looked confused before replying "Oh, you're American?"

It was my turn to be confused, Déjà vu. Before I could question him, Tulio, finished with his check-ups, turned and headed towards the observation room, taking me with him. I would have to investigate later. The ornithologist gave me a smile before pushing me through same door I had used the first time. I don't recall ever having déjà vu before, but I had had it twice now. The cage looked exactly like it had when I first met the spirited, feisty bird I loved…

* * *

><p>Fear. Fear was what described me best at the moment. My heart beat quickly, knowing I had just entered a dangerous area. I had just been placed in the cage of a bird that had practically diced some mans face off. I decided I didn't want to do this. I haven't met many birds in my life, but the ones I had met weren't particularly nice. At this point I was just hoping death would be quick. I shook off Tulio's ridiculous styling, if I was going to die, I at least wanted the dignity of looking like myself.<p>

I cautiously made my way into the room. My fear was overcome by wonder, this had to be the best cage a bird could ever have. The plants were all real and made the room look like one of those jungle pictures I had seen in my reading. The running water caught my eye before I made my way across on a well placed branch. I hope Linda was taking note of this place, because I certainly wouldn't mind a room like this. The room even had a surround sound jungle soundtrack and a nice heat lamp that mimicked the sun and warmed the entire room. I couldn't help but drop my beak. This room was amazing.

I was reminded of my previous fear when a shadow blocked the lamp. I'd almost forgotten there was crazed bird in here as well. I looked over and caught my first glimpse of her.

I froze, The beauty I now faced was undeniable. The grace with which she moved was unbelievable. How could this bird be "spirited"? Maybe it was the radiating light behind her, but the only descriptive word I came up with was "angel." I know most people don't believe in love at first sight, frankly I'm still not sure I believe; but this moment would have made me question my stance if not for the next moment.

Only moments later I learned that angels can be spirited as well. It felt like I was hit by a freight train. My eyes widened as I gasped for breath. Jewel's foot pressed into my throat. I cried out. I heard her speak but the words were foreign. I panicked more, I was about to die because we didn't speak the same language. My pleas went unheard, mostly because I could only manage a few gasps that remotely sounded like the word help.

"Oh you're American!" She relieved her grasp on my trachea.

"thanks I-I need my throat for talking." I gasped, just grateful for breath. I carefully stood up hoping the dizziness would go away.

Even then, as I gasped for air I was still enamored by her beauty. Now that the light wasn't blinding me I could see her sky blue tone and brilliant eyes. I felt bad for staring until I realized, she was staring at me as well.

"Wait, you look like me." If I had been more focused on the situation, this would have been my first red flag. She obviously had no idea why I was here. Of course I had no idea what was going on.

"Oh! Hi! Hi! My name is Blu. You know, like the cheese with the mold on it; that smells really bad." I stammered, my social skills already making a wonderful impression. A second went by and I cursed myself realizing what I had just said.

Things only got worse after I followed her up the tree towards the back of the room.

"Are you ready?"

"For what?" I replied naively. Unfortunately things began to click. "Oh! Oh! Wow! Uuh! Okay." I stammered, not knowing what to do. The two birds I had met outside were right, she was forward. I concentrated, taking their advice I needed confidence. The Crazy Love Hawk. I moved towards Jewel, faking the confidence that I knew I didn't have.

I closed my eyes and leaned towards her. She spoke, but I was already going in for the kiss. She must have backed away because I lost my balance and found my beak buried in her chest.

"Woh, Hey! What are you doing?" She asked angrily, pushing me away. I stumbled back confused and scared. Her "spirited side was coming out again.

I panicked "What? What? What you wanted me to! But just for arguments sake uh- what are-what are you doing?" I was now backed against the trunk, my false confidence gone and my heart racing.

"I'm trying to escape!" Jewel pointed to an air duct she had obviously tried to get through.

"Oh! Yeah! Escape! Th-that's where I was going with that thing I just did..."

She didn't buy my feeble attempt to salvage the situation. As she closed in on me, the image of that man's cut and scarred face returned to my mind, showing me what was about to happen. I begged her forgiveness hoping the nightmare would end. Instead, luck decided to seal my fate.

Linda introduced me to Lionel Richie while she was in college, she may have picked it up a decade late or so, but good music is good music. Now, I wouldn't say Lionel Richie was my favorite music, but I do enjoy his work. So when the disco ball lowered and the jungle sounds were replaced by Lionel's sweet voice, my worry melted away. I knew I was doomed, but at least I would enjoy a good song before I died a horrible death.

The enjoyment was short lived as pain erupted into my body. Jewel had tackled me off the tree. Frightened, I shoved her off me only to follow as she grabbed my wing. Everything became a blur as we rolled in the leaves, me trying to get away, her trying to get at my throat.

A camera! I rushed over to the small device that would save me. "Help!"

Minutes passed as I continued to dodge and evade the furious crazed creature behind me. Where was Linda? Surely she had seen what was going on; why had she not come in to get me? I ducked into some dense bushes to my left and stayed still. Wherever Linda was, it had to be important. But without her, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>I perched next to Jewel on the same branch we had first begun to argue. I looked at the bird next to me. I could only imagine how she was going to feel being grounded while her wing healed. Still, I silently promised that I would remain next to her the entire time. A soft yawn drew me from my thoughts as the light blue macaw next to me stirred. She began to stretch before her eyes snapped open panicking.<p>

"Hey, hey, it's ok, I'm right here with you." I consoled putting my wing around her. "Tulio bandaged your wing. You won't be able to use it for awhile."

Her eyes softened for a moment as she looked at me. "How long?"

My gaze dropped to the branch below me, she wasn't going to like the news. I remembered how she felt being grounded for even a day. I pulled my angel in closer to my side. It was going to be a long recovery.

**A/N: ok so first off, sorry it took so long to write this chapter. I've had a lot going on. Thanks for your patience and loyalty. Seriously 1000+ hits on my first fanfic, I'm impressed and so grateful!**

**Clarifying what has kept me busy will also help answer some of questions for anyone who read or posted a review. If you read my story and Hodge Podge's review, you may be confused, being that there is no owl in this chapter. I am privileged to know Hodge Podge personally. The owl he is referring to is an injured baby screech owl I am helping rehabilitate. Consequently this owl landed me an internship with a wildlife rehab center that specializes in Birds of Prey. So if I don't post as often, it's probably because I am teaching hawks how to hunt live prey. **

**The only other excuse I can muster is that I am working on another story, specifically following Jewel's backstory. Expect chapter one of that to be the next thing I post. Still I found this chapter tough to write, I'll be honest, it's hard to write about actual movie scenes, they just never feel right to read after you've seen the movie. I know this isn't my best chapter, but I hope I can pick up the slack in the chapters to come… anyway hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. ChainedToEachOtherBirds

**Authors Note at the end.**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Anything else is mine, Enjoy!**

7. Chained-To-Each-other-Birds

The large forested room was peaceful. The replica jungle trees rustled softly, mimicking the real counterparts very efficiently. The manufactured brook babbled softly making its way under several branches pausing only to irrigate the smaller plants that could be supported inside.

A grunt echoed deeply inside the room, followed by several more less than natural noises. I struggled to pull a mango up the fake tree's stick staircase. The mango again shifted its weight as the stem came ever closer to twisting off. Not yet discouraged I continued to yank the stubborn fruit up the tree. Cursing fake tree's ridiculous height I stopped to catch my breath. Not that it came any easier with this fruit blocking most of my airway.

Just as I shifted my weight to begin my trek again, the ripe mango decided it had had enough of this poor handling and would rather fall to its own demise than spend more time being lugged around by me. A groan escaped my mouth as I watched the juicy fruit hit the ground with a sickening thud. My wings sagged and I chewed on the stem that was still in my mouth. So much for that idea, before I could even turn to head the rest of the way up this cursed tree I heard the melodic laughter above me. Blushing tried to focus on getting back up the tree and not on the fact that Jewel had seen the entire thing.

The blue macaw stared at me sweetly with those gorgeous eyes as I stepped onto the branch she occupied. I paused, staring vacantly at the beauty before me. Even with her wing bandaged tight against her body, her feather radiated the soft sky blue that distinguished her as such a jewel. Before I could continue, I caught myself and came back to reality.

"thow slong avesyou veen-" I cut myself short remembering the stem still in my mouth. Panicked I spit it out only to have it feebly land on my foot. With a quick shake I removed the invading stem and gave up on ever being suave again.

"How l-long were you watching?" I asked still stumbling over my words.

"Long enough." She smiled "You sure showed that mango who was boss."

"I, well, I- I mean I was-"

"I'm joking Blu, It was a nice thought and gesture." She came close and gave me a one winged hug. "Seriously, Id rather it be on the ground, you can finally show me how you maneuver without flight!" she said cheerfully trying to raise both wings in a grand gesture. The pain came across her face as she remembered one wing was broken and bound to her body.

I frowned as the she froze in pain. "You want me to go get Tulio?" I asked stepping towards her in order to offer support.

"No, that's ok, its gone now; lets just get on with the lesson." She replied poorly hiding the pain behind her words. I sighed at Jewels stubbornness, before making my way to the protruding stick staircase.

An hour had passed; we had only just reached the ground, though Jewels return had proved a bit messier than mine. I couldn't help but snicker a bit seeing her feathers covered in mango juice. The spirited bird gave me a cold stare before letting her face lighten a bit.

"I'd offer you some breakfast, but it looks like you kinda dove into it already." I commented blithely. Expecting a comeback, I was rather surprised to find piece of fruit flying towards me instead of a snide remark.

"So I was thinking-"

"That's never good"

"I was thinking that after breakfast I could show more of how I get around." I remarked between bites.

Jewel's eyes darkened and she shifted her gaze down to the messy fruit in front of her. "I don't know Blu. You saw how bad I was earlier."

"That was bound to happen; you've never tried this before. Besides with your wing bandaged you're bound to be off balance." I relied cheerfully. "You just need some practice! We start with something easier."

Jewel was still hesitant, still avoiding my gaze. "I just feel so lopsided. It's like I can't even stand up straight with this ridiculous thing!" The sky blue macaw exclaimed, tugging angrily at the oppressive bandages.

I sighed and walked over to my Jewel. She was upset and disappointed, but I continued anyway. Ignoring the sticky mess that still covered her feathers I pressed my body next to hers, and wrapped my wing around her back.

"We'll do this together; it won't be the first time. When it comes down to it, we're not acquaintance birds. We're more like-"

"Chained-to-each-other-birds." She replied grinning cheesily at me.

I smiled back; we'd escaped a great many things this way and would surely get through some simple walking the same way.

* * *

><p>The sudden movement startled me as the cage lurched forward. Jewel had thrown herself into the bars. "Woh! Woh! Woh! Wait! Wait! What are you doing?" I squawked as I tried to regain my balance.<p>

"Getting out of here! Are you going to help me or what?" Jewel replied frantically as she swung herself back into the cage. Everything was swinging wildly now, and I was beginning to feel sick. I tried to reason with her.

"A-actually all the survival guides say to sit and wait. And-and help will come."

"No one is coming!"

My eyes dropped to the floor. I really hoped she was wrong, I really did, but something deep down told me she may be right.

"We're on our own and if we just sit here, we're going to die!" Jewel continued as she swung the cage ever closer to the window and the open sky beyond.

As the cage swung back towards the window, Jewel desperately grabbed for the window bars, ignoring the door completely.

"Stop. Stop! Why don't you just open the door?" I replied, deciding I would help her for now. There was no need for her to hurt herself. I grabbed the sliding pin and pulled lightly. The door swung open.

"Are you kidding me!"

"What? It's just a standard Philips slide-bolt, you ju-"

"Come on!"

Before I could react, Jewel was gone. I was immediately surprised to find my foot following her. I let out a cry as I found myself being dragged from the cage door. Frantic, I looked for something to grab. My beak caught the edge of the cage, pinning my tongue between the roof of my mouth and the cold metal.

The movement halted and I distinctly felt my body being stretched very uncomfortably.

"What are you doing?" The blue bird cried out as she franticly tried to pull away.

"I cantht-"

"You can't, you can't what?"

Just as I was trying to speak again, ignoring the incredible pain my tongue was in, Nigel and the two dim humans burst through the door. I let out a gasp releasing the cage and my poor tongue. Suddenly I found myself looking at the sky swing under an enraged Jewel.

"I can't fly!" I cried as I looked down to see what piece of ground was going to kill us. We didn't fall far though as a clothesline caught our fall and sent us zip-lining to our next immediate death.

"You couldn't tell me this before now?" she exploded, ignoring the peril we were in.

"It didn't matter before now!" I yelled back

Stars exploded as I made contact with the wall. Still I was surprised and excited to see I had survived, if only just.

"I hate you." The voice didn't quite register but the sudden freefall did and I let out another yelp as our life-line released us to gravities mercy.

Whatever store clerk had lazily left his shipping boxes out; I am now personally indebted to for saving our lives.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Jewel cried indignantly

"Yes, I can't fly, I pick my beak, and sometimes I pee in the birdbath!" I spat and brushed packing peanuts from my feathers still surprised to be alive. Our reprieve was cut short as we were spotted by the humans.

Again I was pulled after the crazy bird attached to my leg. Her yanking and pulling almost immediately set me off balance and we were back to tumbling and rolling uncontrollably down a dirty street. I'd had enough.

"Wait. Wait! Just listen to me." I stopped her, forcing her to pay attention. "Flying may not be my thing but walking is! Follow my lead!" I cried turning back down the street. "Inside leg, outside leg, inside-" Jewel cut me off repeating the chant.

Soon, we were flying down the street, well metaphorically anyway. I looked back to check our pursuers and immediately wish I hadn't. Looking ahead I saw a rather dirty alley cat, Mrs. Leeman's Chihuahua immediately came to mind. Without thinking I began to bark at the cat, which leapt high into the air and out of our way.

As we passed underneath, I looked back to see the cat effectively using our pursuers heads as emergency steps.

"See! I'm bilingual too!" I said, absently trying to make up for my many flaws. Jewel ignored me and began to complain.

"Great, I'm stuck the only bird in the world who can't fly!"

"Actually there are about forty species of flightless birds." I defended while keeping an eye on the cockatoo that was still chasing us/

"Duck."

"What? No, ducks can fly." Surely she knew this.

"No, Duck!"

I looked forward just in time to see a wooden box occupy my headspace. I pulled my neck back but still felt the box brush my feathers as we raced underneath. Looking back towards the box, all I managed to see were Nigel's dirty talons. I gulped in fear. Before I could feel his talons grab my neck I lost the feeling of the ground beneath my feet. With another gasp I realized we were falling again.

Oddly enough, my only thought wasn't about our coming demise, but anger I felt for the poor planning of Rio's streets.

What happened next was merely a blur of spinning and colliding colors that only served to make me nauseous and remind me that somehow I was still alive through all of this.

With a crash I opened my eyes to find myself again in a freefall looking over the rest of Rio de Janeiro. Everything slowed for a second as I watched the beautiful night skyline. Another crash and a set of sparks told me that we were still in danger.

I found myself beside Jewel going down what appeared to be a sort of city slalom of corrugated tin roofing, small chimneys, and power lines. Nigel called out in rage and I could tell he was still close behind us. We sped down the rooftops bouncing across the gaps.

Nigel was still closing in. Through my panic and fear I noticed a transformer box. Desperately I grabbed the side of our corrugated sled and grabbed Jewel.

"Hang on!" I yanked with all my might hoping to turn the metal in time. We just missed the pole and the explosion of light behind us told me that Nigel hadn't been so lucky. As the metal ground to a stop on the road, I was grateful the chase was over and still frozen from the entire event.

A tug on my leg made me aware of jewels presence.

"Come on." She said with another yank. "We need to keep moving."

* * *

><p>I settled down on the branch next to Jewel, checking her bandage for wear and stress points.<p>

"See, I told you we'd get the hang of it." I looked over to the lovely, if exhausted, bird next to me.

She chuckled a bit, "You were right, but it would have been a little easier without your clumsy butt getting in the way."

I smiled, thinking again of how much we had and could do if we worked together. She leaned in closer against my wing and sighed "Just wait Blu; nights like these will be even better when we're out in our own hollow."

My breath caught in my throat. Shrugging back fear, I turned to speak to Jewel, but she had already tucked her head back to sleep. I let out a soft sigh and tucked my head into my wing. I would just have to cross that bridge when I got there.

It was dark, that's all I could think about was how dark it was. Slowly I moved through the jungle. The chained yanked my leg again, telling me to hurry up. I couldn't get over how dark it was. Moonlight barely filtered through the branches leaving only a silhouette of the frustrated bird ahead of me.

An animal's jaw snapped and I jumped back "What was that!"

"A stick." Jewel bluntly replied. But I was focused on a creatures outline just beyond our trail.

"A-and that?"

"It's just a rock."

I backed up, feeling slightly ridiculous for letting my imagination get to me. No sooner had I thought that than I felt something crawling up my back. I froze. "I-is that a-a sp-pider on my back?" I stuttered

"Will you knock it off? It's just a leaf!" Jewel snapped before looking and brushing the leaf off. "Told ya. Now just come on, we need to find a safe place to spend the night."

This crazy bird wouldn't know safe if it bit her… which was more likely to happen out here than I was comfortable to admit. "Safe? Safe! We are in the Jungle. You know when people say 'it's a jungle out there' I'm pretty sure they don't mean it as a good thing."

"Look I hate to break it to ya, but this is where our kind naturally lives." She retorted testily.

My patience was seriously wearing thin with her attitude. "Hey! Don't talk to me about nature, I watch animal planet, I know all about the food chain ou-"

As if on queue an annoying fly came into my view, buzzing merrily until a large toad grabbed it and ended its life. Just as the toad next to me enjoyed its meal, a snake decided the toad would make a nice meal. My heart raced looking at what could've been me.

"You see, you see! Out here I'm just an H'orderve, a feathery spring roll."

My eyes snapped open, my heart was still racing. Even my subconscious agreed that the jungle was bad. I looked over at Jewel who still slept peacefully. Her words still rang in my head. I choked back some more fear swallowing deeply, dreading what would come after her wing healed.

**A/N: Hey! I apologize for taking so long to complete this chapter… wow! I come back to find and extra 1000 views, more reviews, and having been added to a community archive! I'm stunned and speechless. You guys rock! I just hope I can keep writing a good story. Anyway, I have a full list of excuses on my profile page and a full apology there as well if you care. Thanks so much!**


	8. Fire and Ice

**A/N at the end**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>8. Fire and Ice<p>

The flame's heat and Lt. Gunderson's image was still fresh in my mind when the truck came to a stop. With a jolt, the dingy truck bed began reversing towards a line of brightly colored tarps and stands. Without a thought, I stood at the end of the truck bed taking in this new sight; just the thought of a little fruit was making my beak water.

Suddenly I found myself propelled forward as the truck came to a jarring stop. With a crack the wood railing I held to gave way leaving me to tumble towards the ground. My head still ached from intimately meeting the surfboard and now my entire body joined in on the complaining. I forced my head off the ground to see Jewel Glaring at me.

A loud crack resounded as a melon assaulted my skull, filling my vision with stars and yet more internal complaints. I seriously wondered the odds of me surviving the rest of the day.

"I'm going to chew through my own leg if this doesn't come off soon." Jewel grumbled, the sound of her voice hurting my ears. Surely I had a concussion, if not several.

Raphael landed next to us with an all too casual air about him. "Relax; if I know Luiz, we're right where we want to be."

My head ached, giving up on the painful process of deciphering what was going on I just let myself take the sights in, hoping the migraine would begin to fade. I watched the chaos of the market, as humans bought and traded fruit. Soon however, my attention was back on Raphael who had begun talking with two small birds. I could swear I'd seen them before. I stared at them intently; trying to place there faces when the round one froze and stared at me.

"Hold up! Rewind!" The red and grey bird exclaimed before flying strangely towards me, his wing beats separated by strange twists and turns. "Ain't that the bird from the cage?"

It hit me as he said it; these two were the strange pair of birds from the car ride, the ones who had so ineffectively tried to open my cage. I focused back on the conversation, it was the canary's turn to fly to me before leaning in.

"Baby's got beak."

What did that even mean? I focused, my head throbbing intently, these birds were speaking gibberish. As far as I could tell it was English, but the phrases and dialect were foreign to me.

"- I wanna be like you." The cardinal finished as it donned on me, at least basically, what they were saying.

"Oh, Oh, it's not what you think, we're just chained together." I tried to clarify

"Hey I'm not judging"

"Keep it spicy."

"Oh yeah"

Again this strange duo confused me, their sentence conveying nothing but non-discernable slang. Before I could sort it out, they continued.

"It's time to take it to the next level!"

Confused, I glanced at the structures around me noting their quality craftsmanship. "Wh-what's wrong with this level?"

The cardinal, Pedro, flew at my face. "Oh come on! This ain't the level, the next level's the level! You gotta shake your tail feathers!" He finished with a swift wave of his backside. Before I could protest further I found myself being pushed along by Raphael.

"Come on you love birds, you're in Rio, you should enjoy it."

The toucan guided us through the busy street towards whatever it was that they had talked about. I couldn't help but notice the rampant miscommunication. Whatever it was that I was being dragged up to, the thought of it was beginning to frighten me.

We rounded a corner, to find a curtain blocking our path. Above us a sign had been crudely written: Club Paradise. Yes, now I was sure I didn't want to be here. The pounding bass seeped through the entrance and I could already feel myself starring on a future episode of COPS.

As we passed through the heavy curtain my beak dropped at the sight before me. My eyes were drawn to the lights and colors as the danced and chased each other through the room and over the crowd. The number of birds in this club astounded me, is this, what they did all day? I watched as the moved and bounced along with the current beat, noticing the large spoonbill that had lost himself in the music and made himself the center of attention. It was all dazzling and inspiring. I had never seen this many birds together outside of watching discovery channel or the geese as they migrated.

The cardinal called Nico flew by my head, breaking my train of thought before turning in the air to face the rest of us. "Welcome, to Paradise" He stated smoothly before flying into the crowd.

I continued to look around acknowledging the yellow bird briefly. "This is amazing!" I stated simply. "-Despite all the obvious health code violations." I added noting the overused outlets and lack of emergency exits.

"I like you, nothing you say makes any sense!" The toucan laughed before his voice was lost in the crowd and music. Jewel and I continued to follow him deeper into the club brushing against the dancers until I bumped into Raphael. It was only then that I noticed the music had died down and Nico was speaking. A flash of light blinded me briefly and I realized that somehow the three of us were now in a spotlight with all the other birds staring at us.

I shied back hoping to escape the attention we were obviously drawing until the light dimmed and I heard the cardinal calling out to the crowd. Suddenly, the beat picked up and I noticed Nico and Pedro taking their place on the stage.

Before long, Nico dropped into singing a song he had obviously sung many times before. He and Pedro worked through the first verse playing off each other and gaining the full attention of the crowd. The beat picked up as it the two sang. I realized that these two birds were not just strange but talented to.

Before the end of Nico's verse I found my foot tapping to the beat; almost startled, I watched it for several seconds wondering why it defied my desire to stop. The chorus erupted in a blast of rhythm and heart.

I suddenly found myself looking out across Rio watching the morning routine as each bird sang, grateful for a new day. The beat overcame me and I began to dance, a young chick in his hollow that had been captured by the music.

The memory receded and I found myself dancing like I had never danced before. "What are you doing?" Jewel asked as I moved beside her.

"Uh, uh, I don't know." I stared down at myself, unable to stop and unsure if I wanted to. I continued letting myself get lost to the beat, enjoying the rhythm and the breeze as my feather moved and rolled to the music. With a brisk turn I opened my eyes and froze.

Before me, Jewel had begun to dance, letting her wings and body spin and sway gracefully to the music. She too was lost in the beat, and now I was lost in her rhythm. A nudge brought me back to the club with a start.

"Hey, she likes you." Raphael nudged again glancing towards the angel in front of me.

I shook my head in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Haven't you been listening?"

"No" he replied "but I've been watching. Just be yourself." Before I could disagree he shoved me away. "Go on!"

Off balance, I stumbled into Jewel, disrupting her dance. I pulled myself away and began to apologize. She pushed me back with a playful laugh and began to dance again. With a chuckle, I let my awkwardness go and focused on the bird in front of me. She moved, I moved, she turned, and I turned. Soon we found ourselves dancing step in step, the rhythm taking us back into its arms.

I couldn't help but watch what was gracing my eyes. The crowd faded, our chain was gone and it was just us and the music. I pulled her in and spun her out, keeping in step with her hypnotic grace. The two of us danced for what seemed like an eternity, Jewel lost in the music, and I lost in Jewel's presence. I drew her in, sensing the end of the song. We spun close together. With a gentle push I launched her into the air.

Her wings extended to pull herself higher before she began to sing. I was truly watching an angel, both in form and in voice. We were in the spotlight again, but I didn't care, my gaze focused on Jewel as she slowly descended, ending her solo and the songs momentum.

She landed softly and our eyes connected. Without thought, I leaned in closer to her. My heart fluttered when she began to lean towards me. Did this mean she really did like me?

Before I could find out, I was again blinded by bright light. I wanted to hurt whatever bird was operating the spotlight. I put a wing up to block the light, squinting as my vision began to slowly clear. The roof of the club had been torn away, reminding every bird that it was still midday.

A gang of monkeys dropped down from the remnants of the clubs ceiling before regrouping in front of me. This is why I don't travel; I mentally panicked, remembering the shows on TV about gang violence. The squat little monkeys separated to reveal what could only be the gang leader. He wore Jewelry on his arms and a gold Rolex around his waist.

"You two are coming with me." He commanded arrogantly. Fear twisted my gut as I looked at the number of these primates facing us. Maybe we sh-

"In your little monkey dreams." Jewel interrupted my thoughts defiantly. Spitting at the leader's feet.

With the chances of solving this peacefully dwindling to nil, I backed Jewel with all I had. "Yeah!" I agreed before spitting to finish off my show of courage. What I managed to do was cover my neck and wings in my own failed spit-ball. "That was meant for you!" I recovered, pointing at the gaudy leader who only laughed. I inwardly groaned, cursing myself for not learning the simplest of things.

Before I could wallow in my clumsiness anymore, I realized that Raphael had stepped in to intervene. Surely if anyone could smooth ruffled feathers it was the father of seventeen. However, he was pushed away by the marmoset leader. I braced myself for the blow Raphael was about to receive, but was surprised when it didn't come. The spoonbill who had danced so outrageously grabbed the monkeys arm

"You mess with my friends, you mess with me!"

"And Us!" All the other birds shouted in agreement. I was surprised at the support we suddenly had. I glanced over towards Jewel, before staring the marmosets down. My confidence had been bolstered; we could get out of this.

The silence was heavy and overbearing as our two groups stared each other down. I felt my heart begin to race and fear once again twist my gut. Still nothing happened. For what seemed like an hour I stared at the monkeys as they glared back.

"Bird verses Monkey!" the cry rang out and chaos ensued. I found myself dragged along by Jewel, who had leapt into the fray. The scene surrounding me was little more than swirls of color and streaks of brown.

We found ourselves backing towards a crate. Jewel ducked as a marmoset flew over her head. I just managed to evade another that had launched itself towards me. Looking back I noticed a third leap off the crate performing flips that would make a gymnast proud. Without thinking I stepped aside and raised the chain on my ankle allowing the monkey to trip over it. I stepped back giving Jewel a quick smile as she did the same, giving a slight bow in celebration.

I turned to see the leader tackle me to the ground; he stood above me, ready to finish me, his Rolex belt shining in the sun. Just as panic set in again I felt a sharp tug on my leg before seeing a look of intense pain cross the marmoset's face. I watched him with a hint of remorse as he slumped to the side moaning.

With a light grunt I righted myself and shot a look of gratitude to Jewel. Her attention, however, was drawn to the trolley that had already left the station.

"We gotta go!" She cried before taking off down the alley with me in tow. The sprint was unfortunately cut short by a group of marmosets that encircled us. Instinctively we backed into each other hoping to keep an eye on each primate.

Before anyone could make a move, I hit the ground as my foot suddenly rose above my head. I glanced down, er, up at my feet to see the spoonbill carrying the two of us by the chain that bound us. I looked back down with a sigh expecting to see the alleyway dropping away. Instead I saw an enraged marmoset grab my wing and pull.

I let out a yell of pain as the marmosets chained together hoping to stop us, or pull my wing off, probably both. I closed my eyes, which had now formed tears, and hoped they would let go. There was a loud crack and suddenly we were moving again. I opened my eyes, half expecting to see those blasted monkeys down below with my wing.

My heartbeat steadied and I relaxed as I realized I still had both my wings and most of my feathers. I let out a tentative laugh as the war-zone dropped ever farther from us.

The spoonbill dropped us on the trolley as it continued along its tracks. I glanced down, grateful to see my wings and feathers in order.

"Thank you!" I called out

"Any time!" The spoonbill replied amiably as he flew back towards the fracas.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Earth to Blu. Earth to Blu."<p>

"What, oh sorry, I got lost in thought for a second." I responded, turning from the window towards the voice. The sun was shining into the aviary building and onto Jewel making her feathers glow a brilliant hue. The Beautiful macaw just stared at me blankly before sighing.

"Blu, like I was saying, we'll make it through this."

"I know, I know, we've flown, run through the streets, and fought monkeys! But this is different! I can't help with this." I turned from her, letting the silence sit. Below us, Tulio and the other staff busied themselves with the tasks of treating several birds that had come in.

"You know what, no!" she replied angrily turning me around with her good wing. "Tulio said it was probably a simple infection! I'll be fine." She paused, shifting her gaze to the floor before continuing quietly. "You think I'm not worried? Blu, I know how serious infections can be. I need you; I need you to be strong. For me." He voice trailed off.

I let a shudder pass through my body. She was right; I was being no help to anyone. I turned my head and popped my neck. "You're right, Besides, I know Tulio is right! A simple infection, nothing to worry about! You'll be up and going again in no time."

I looked back at Jewel, who smiled appreciatively at me. Fear still gripped my stomach, but I was stronger with her and I wasn't about to let anything take her from me again. "Alright, as soon as Tulio gets the blood work finished, we're going to get you back to bed. I don't want you to lift a feather until your better!" I spoke sternly, managing to rouse a laugh from Jewel rather than obedience.

"Whatever you say Dr. Gunderson." She replied before nuzzling into my side.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, thanks for reading, I'm really enjoying this story and seeing at least a few of you enjoy it as well. That said; expect another chapter from my other story before I continue this one. Happy Reading!**


	9. Contrast

**A/N at the end**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>9. Contrast<p>

"Bl, Blu would you please… Just, no move the other way, stop, no." Jewel growled at me in frustration as she tried to maneuver her way across the branch.

"I, I can't let you do this. You shouldn't be doing anything while the infection is healing. Besides, you promised." I stammered, trying to reason with the love of my life.

A sharp crack of lightning punctuated my comments and Jewel let out a snort, rolling her eyes at me. "You're being ridiculous Blu, climbing down this tree is not going to hinder my healing. I promised I wouldn't over exert myself, but I hardly think this counts towards that."

Before I could react, the blue macaw shoved her way past, sending me off the edge of the branch. Instinctually I grabbed at the branch with my beak, digging it into the wood. With a grunt I pulled myself back onto the branch. The stubborn macaw was already making good time down the peg stairs of the tree.

"Jewel! At least let me help you, what are you trying to do anyway?" I could hear an exasperated sigh escape her beak as she continued to climb down the tree. "Jewel?"

"I'm just going to get some fruit, take a bath, and stretch my wing." She glared at me from the ground waiting for a response.

"Well, couldn't I j-"

"No," she cut me off "Blu, I'm doing this. I'm sick of just sitting around every day. I need to do something." She paused, regarding me for a moment. "If you must, you can bring some fruit over to the water."

With that she turned and began to walk towards the artificial river, leaving me to find some real food among the canopy of fake plants. Silence fell in the room, save for the storm outside. I made my way down the pegs on the tree listening to the plinking of the rain on the roof. Once on the ground, I set about my task. Several minutes later I had a nice mix of fruit and nuts gathered at the edge of the water.

"How was your walk?" I asked casually, as Jewel emerged from behind some fake shrubs.

"Fine." She said curtly, grabbing a nut and biting into it fiercely, hoping to draw attention away from her shortness of breath.

I began to speak, but stopped myself before I could frustrate her further. I quietly observed her tear into her food angrily as though it were that cockatoo. Still watching her, I grabbed a nut and began to eat as well; I hated seeing her like this.

She finished eating her fill and stood up without a word. The blue macaw silently made her way to the waters edge, and began to work at her bandage. She worked for several minutes, getting more and more frustrated as the bandage refused to let go of her wing.

"Well?" she growled at me "You going to come help or not?" The glare she gave me could freeze the sun. Immediately I dropped my fruit and made my way to her side.

"Sorry, I just thou-"

"Just shut up and help me with this will you?" I clamped my beak shut and pushed the confusion from my mind as I began to work on freeing her wing.

The bandage began to unwrap with the both of us working at it. Soon, half of it was lying on the ground. Silently I made my way around her, following the piece that held her wing up against her body. As I walked around her I failed to notice the loose bandage caught on my talon.

With an unconscious tug I took a step, earning cry of pain from Jewel. Turning quickly at the noise, I saw my love holding her wing in pain, glaring at me, and falling into the stream all at the same time.

I hurried over to the edge of the water as Jewel struggled to get out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you ok?" I asked, awkwardly holding my wing out to help her. She grabbed it tightly and I pulled her up as she muttered under her breath. The bandages were now ruined and her wing was hanging low. I could see it was still a bit swollen and obviously painful. "Here! Let me hel-"

"NO!" she yelled, before catching herself and continuing. "No, Blu, I don't want your help right now."

"But, I can help."

"Blu, I'm sorry, but you're not helping… Can you just, just leave me alone?"

"Oh, uh, sure." I responded quietly, the words stinging sharply.

The rain outside continued to fall steadily throughout the morning. I took note of the precipitation as I made my way back into the clinic side of the aviary on Tulio's arm. The Brazilian man set me on the open window sill across from his desk. The pattering of rain on the deck beyond the window invaded my senses. A soft mist blew in and caressed my feathers; the smell of fresh air relieved my senses. It was a welcome distraction despite its brevity.

As soon as it had arrived, the distraction was gone, leaving me wet and cold. Still I sat in the window refusing to move, letting the mist drench my feathers. Jewel's words still rang in my head, reverberating deeply in my mind bringing about painful memories and foolish actions.

I couldn't shake it, the feeling stirred within me. I felt useless and foolish. I resisted at first, reminding myself of the events that had still only recently unfolded, surely I had proven myself useful. The mist grew cold and a few stray droplets of water hit my head like admonishing slaps. The emotional attack did not waiver, instead it coldly pushed more thoughts into my mind.

* * *

><p>The evening sun cast a gentle orange hue that warmed my feathers as the trolley labored up the hill clicking quietly along the rails. A gentle breeze caressed me and I let out a light sigh, grateful that my heart-rate had finally begun to drop after the brawl we had escaped from. My thoughts wandered back to the comment Raphael had made about Jewel liking me. A smile formed at the very idea of the concept and I absently turned to look at her.<p>

She sat smiling with her eyes closed. Her radiance stunned me once again. The grace with which she did everything was absolutely beautiful. Even her sitting peaceably doing nothing, my brain had gone numb and I was speechless.

I turned my gaze down to a tiny puddle of oil on metal between us and let out another quiet sigh. Raphael's words seemed more like a dream, an impossible conception; even if they were true, I had no idea how to approach the situation. This was new ground for me.

"Psst" The noise was faint, but it stood out from the relative silence and caught my attention anyway. I craned my neck around and looked quizzically at the trio of birds behind me.

The toucan grinned at me but stayed quiet, opting to motion his thoughts. He brought is wings together and gave a knowing nod, implying that I get closer to Jewel.

"Don't worry," I quietly mouthed back. "I got this." Giving him a confident smirk I turned away from him before he could motion anything else. As soon as I knew he couldn't see, my smirk dropped into a nervous frown. I most certainly did not "have this" and I had no idea at how I was to proceed. I knew I had to at least try. I frantically wracked my brain for any useful knowledge on relationships, only to come up blank.

With no literature to rely on, I decided to take Raphael's advice literally. With a nervous gulp, I put my wings down to quietly inch closer to the serene blue macaw next to me. My heart-rate shot higher than it had in the brawl earlier as I continued to inch towards her. Fear wrenched my gut and I focused on anything that wasn't Jewel.

In a manner that was anything but causal, I began to bring my wing around her back. When I was sure it was hovering just over her shoulder, I glanced quickly to see her response. To my horror, she was watching her shoulder, and the wing that now hovered right over it.

My mind screamed at me to abort and think of some excuse. I had just blown my chance with her. I snapped my wing back and rubbed my head with it, hoping that I had not actually been seen. As she turned to look at me, I frantically grasped for some excuse or something that would draw her attention from me.

"Is it hot? I think I'm actually sweating! I didn't even think it was biologically possible! But…" I rambled thoughtlessly before lifting the wing that had only just been around her. "Look!" To my horror, the underside of my wing was actually wet.

"Oh… Wow?" was all she said, but the strange look she gave me said much more. I looked back down at the tracks in front of the trolley, wishing to be anywhere but here. I mentally kicked myself. That had been almost as bad as the cheese comment I had made when I first met Jewel.

Giving up on such a failed endeavor, I decided to just stay quiet and watch the scenery. The trio behind us was talking amongst themselves, probably about what had just happened. I tuned them out, focusing only on the sights before me.

Just as I was admiring the architecture, I began to notice a soft tune. The musically inclined canary had begun to sing, his voice lifted and moved behind Jewel and I, accompanied by the light plucking of guitar strings. Rather than question his motives, I just leaned back and enjoyed the evening, momentarily forgetting what a dork I had just been. Petals from the Ipe-Rosa tree began falling gently down in front of us.

Nico's voice shifted and grew as he flew past, pausing briefly in front of us. That's when it hit me, they were setting a mood; they were trying to salvage what I had messed up. I smiled at the canary, happy to have another chance.

Not a second later my eyes were wide in fear as I realized Jewel had been talking. I had replied in agreement, but what I had agreed to was a complete mystery to me. I froze, not knowing what to do or how to proceed.

"Psst, Blu." The toucan whispered from my side. "Down here. Just tell her, you have beautiful eyes."

It was brilliant! A compliment! "yeah! That's good. Great Idea!" I responded before taking a deep breath.

I had to be confident, a "love hawk" as Pedro would say. I turned confidently to Jewel, looking into her eyes with a strong smile and spoke. "I have beautiful eyes." I said it proudly, and watched expectantly for her response.

Jewel pulled back from me with a slight look of concern on her face. "Uhh yeah, ok, sure, they're nice" she answered before breaking eye contact nervously.

"No, her eyes, her eyes" Raphael strained through his whisper.

What I had said finally sank in. Before I could feel the shame and embarrassment, I corrected myself, "Your eyes, your eyes are great, not mine, I mean, mine are okay, but yours, yours" I was rambling again, I could see it in her face, I needed to get to the point. "I, I bet you can see right through them"

I'd done it again, I had screwed up and now we were left with an awkward silence and Jewel wouldn't even look at me. I gave up, happy to save the meager scraps of my dignity.

Raphael, however, was ever hopeful "Blu, just tell her how you feel."

I figured I probably didn't even have my dignity left. This time I earnestly looked at Jewel, trying to form the words.

"… I've been wanting to tell you," I could do this, the words were coming.

"That I,"

Come on…

"That I"

Almost…

I took one last breath, ready to spill my heart to the girl I liked when a sharp pain tore at my throat. Suddenly my body felt starved of oxygen and began to grab at my throat hoping to clear whatever was assailing it.

Jewel was behind me, wings around me, saving me, forcing me to exhale whatever it was in my throat. My world began to blur.

The mechanics shop was dark save for one light illuminating the table. The whirring noise of the saw blade drowned out any and all of my complaints I attempted to make. The fear sitting in my gut had begun to boil into an all out panic. Instinctually I began to back away from the lethal piece of equipment. The bulldog behind me hindered my progress and I still found myself being pushed towards the blade.

A quick glance at Jewel reinforced in me just how crazy this plan was. She was just as scared as I was at this point. Still despite both of our efforts, Luiz was still pushing us closer towards the saw.

Then it happened. I had been trying so hard to back away, that one of his pushes sent me off balance and I was suddenly falling face first towards the saw.

* * *

><p>Several gusts of wind and some cold rain awoke me from my thoughts. The rain had lightened to a mild drizzle, but the source of the wind gusts had landed beside me. The Toucan wrapped me up in a big hug<p>

"My friend! It's good to see you!" He released me before continuing. "I want to apologize, when the plane door opened, I left you, we all did." He paused, a frown appearing on his beak. "I know I could give you excuses about my family, but they weren't the ones in trouble, you were. So, I'm sorry. I let you down."

"It's nothing, you had a family to look after." I responded politely.

His smile returned and he took me by the shoulders. "But then, I hear that not only are you safe, but you flew! I'm so proud of you Blu!"

Despite his praise, I remained silent my thoughts and the days events sticking in my mind.

"Is everything ok?" The toucan moved closer, finally noticing my silence.

"It's nothing, just a discussion Jewel and I had earlier."

Raphael gave a knowing look. "Eva and I have had many 'discussions', its all ab-"

"I try so hard," I cut him off, finally venting some frustration. "I give so much-"

This time Raphael cut me off. "Blu, you can't always expect her to give back. Love doesn't work that way."

I looked at my friend, "It's not that, I give so much, and everything I do, it all seems to fail. Raphael, when we were looking for Jewel in the parade, I, I found Linda." I paused to let it sink in. "The thing is even after I found Linda I chose to leave her and find Jewel."

"A tough decision I take it."

"But it wasn't. When it came down to it, I knew I needed to be with Jewel."

"That's good! You're learning to think with your heart."

"That's not my point." I watched the last drops of the rainstorm flow on the deck in front of me. "Everything I do for her, it all fails, or blows up in my face, or puts her in danger. I just don't see how she can truly love me, especially now that she has gotten to know me. I mean sure we're friends, but loving a klutz like me?"

"Aye Carumba, Blu, its not about being smooth or coordinated, it's about showing your love. You may not be graceful or smooth, but you have already shown how much you love her by your actions. If she really loves you, then she'll see that."

I turned from him. I wanted to accept this advice, but part of me couldn't believe it to be true. We remained silent for some time.

"Blu, Is she worth it?"

"What?" I was dumbfounded. Had he really asked me that? "Of course she is!" I replied indignantly.

The toucan pulled me be the shoulders and looked seriously into my eyes. "Then keep trying. Love isn't an easy road, nor is it always a two ways. If she is worth it, you must keep trying, no matter what. You may have to back off a bit, but you stay with her, and you remain ready to help when she needs it."

Before I could process the words, the toucan thrust himself into the air and off into the forest, leaving me alone with his words in the fading gloom of the passing storm.

**A/N: Ok, I lied, If you've been paying attention to these author's notes, you would have realized that I said I'd be writing a chapter for another story. Obviously, that did not happen… I decided I'd like to focus on finishing one story and putting more effort into it rather than juggling two stories. So, as a result, this one will probably be finished before you see much of my next one. **

**Ok like I've stated before, I don't like to ask for reviews, and I won't for most chapters. So here is my one reminder for awhile. I enjoy reviews, it helps me get better and encourages me to continue at a decent pace; so if you feel so inclined please do not hesitate leave one. Thanks!**


	10. Decisions

**A/N at the end**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Enjoy!**

**10. Decisions**

A Damp, tropical darkness clung to the edges of the room as the clock on the wall ticked the minutes away. It was illuminated only by the dim glow from a lamp at the other side of the room. I stood near the edge of the triage table catching my breath, letting my wings hang in order to cool down. As my breathing slowed, my frustration grew. I was glad that the people had left the rehab center early tonight, but I had still managed to waste most of the evening in failed attempts and painful bruises.

I let out a sigh, grateful to be breathing normally again, at the very least I was getting a good, if painful, workout. I took a moment to straighten my feathers; they needed to be perfect if the science was going to work. As I preened my rather beaten feathers my mind wandered back to the events of the day. I tugged a feather too hard as I cringed, thinking about what a fool I had made of myself "helping" wrap Jewel's bandage, and it wasn't long before Raphael's advice began to work its way through my head. I inadvertently shook my head in disgust as Raphael's voice rang in my head. The toucan meant well, but I had trouble accepting what he said.

Jewel had kissed me for a reason, and both Raphael and I knew it wasn't because of my smooth actions and communication skills. However, our views differed sharply from there. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the warring thoughts in my head. I spread my wings preparing to try again.

Raphael seemed to believe that she had chosen me because I stayed with her. I couldn't accept that, not when we were literally chained together for the majority of the time and caged together for the rest of the time. Again I shook my head, demanding the mental debate to stop so I could concentrate. I adjusted my pinions, spread my tail, and shifted my weight from foot to foot in anticipation.

No, I couldn't accept a simple choice like that. Jewel had to think that I helped her in some way. In truth, I had, but not that much, she must have chosen me because I saved her. That was laughable, the number of times I had put her in danger far outweighed the one time I had actually saved her.

Giving up on damming the mental stream I let it flow and finished the thought. The reasons I chose Jewel are numerous but unimportant at this time; the reason Jewel chose me on the other hand is simple; she thinks I can protect and support her. Whether or not that is true, Raphael got another thing right; I need to keep trying.

Nodding to myself, confident in the conclusion, I made my final adjustments before launching myself off the table. This was the first step to becoming a bird that could support Jewel. I hadn't flown since the plane and now I was determined to do it again.

Still this was attempt seven now and I had yet to achieve the goal I had already reached once before. It was immeasurably frustrating that something I had already done before would be so difficult to accomplish again. I let out a frustrated cry before pushing that line of thought to the side as well. I glanced at the clock, quarter to midnight, one more try and then I needed to get some sleep. I took a deep breath and launched myself over the dimly lit floor. I immediately felt the air rush and begin to catch under my wings pushing me up. I was successfully gliding, but that wasn't my goal. With another deep breath I pushed my wings down ignoring the soreness that had developed from the bruises given to me by the floor.

I felt myself lift higher and hope began to rise in my heart. That was short lived however, and I quickly realized that I hadn't brought by wings back up. It was too late however; the floor and I became intimately acquainted with a thud for the eighth time this evening. With a new bruise already making itself known on my wing I decided that I had had enough for the night. Seven failed attempts and one clumsy trip over my own talons had left my body hurting enough.

By the time I had reached the aviary Jewel and I were staying in, I had become sore enough that moving quietly was going to be difficult and I really did not feel like waking Jewel and being grilled on my many injuries. In painful silence I forced my stiff legs and battered body up the peg stairs that wound their way around the fake tree Jewel and I had first talked in. With a quiet grunt I dug my beak into the trunk and pulled myself up to the branch where Jewel and I slept.

Not wanting to chance waking the blue macaw before me I decided to sleep at the base of the branch. I turned and tucked my head into my wing, eagerly letting sleep embrace me and lead me from the stiff exhaustion of my waking hours.

* * *

><p>Sunlight washed over my beak as the bay doors opened slowly. The hum and sputter of the prop engines immediately filled the cargo bay deafening any other sound that might try to grab attention. Adrenaline was coursing through my feathers; I couldn't help but shiver in quiet excitement. I had just saved the day, me, a nerd bird from Minnesota, I had just rescued an entire group of birds using physics and ingenuity that would make MacGyver proud.<p>

I surveyed the scene trying to hold my excitement as I watched the birds eagerly wait for the door to finish opening. Before I could relax in my success, I caught movement in the corner of my eye and turned to see the birdnappers trying to force the door to the cockpit open. Panic began to set in; we needed to get off this junk heap of a plane.

I jumped down to floor of the cargo bay and made my way to the back of the plane. Remembering a documentary I had watched on paratroopers, I motioned at the group of Birds.

"GO! GO! GO!" I shouted, urging my friends to get off the plane. The strong suggestion worked and I was instantly blinded by streaks of color and further deafened by shouts of joy as the tropical birds rushed past me and into freedom.

It was at this moment that I realized the flaw to my escape plan. My wings drooped and my smile fell as I realized that I was still on a plane, thousands of feet in the air, with no way off. It was a sobering realization, but another thought immediately replaced it. Jewel needed to get off the plane and leave. I turned to her just as she turned to me radiating pure joy that could only come from the taste of her freedom.

"Jewel I-"

"Come on! Come on, we need to get out!" she interrupted, grabbing my wing and yanking me towards the edge of the plane.

"Wait. Wait! WAIT!" I cried pulling back, slowing her rapid sprint towards the edge of my world. I pulled my wing out of her grasp, rubbing the pinions she had mercilessly pulled. She stopped a few feet away and gave me a questioning look. Quickly though, her demeanor sank as the realization hit her as well.

She broke eye contact with me briefly before turning back to me trying to think of something. She slowly began to walk towards me, away from her freedom.

"Umm, it's ok. Hey it's ok."

I took in her sight, realizing it might be the last time I would see her. Her eyes sparkled with worry drawing my thoughts to how perfect her name really fit her. She truly was a jewel in every way. The pink glow of the morning sun bathed her in a soft light and I was again mesmerized by her beauty. With a sense of sadness but a firm resolve I made my mind up that I would ensure she leaves.

"We'll figure this out together. Right?" she continued, trying to encourage me.

I was beginning to tell her to leave when her eyes widened in surprise. Before I could question it or even register that the look had been fear I felt a sudden force grab my neck and throw me to the ground. When my eyes opened but all I could see was a mass of dirty white feathers above me, the maniacal cackle told me that Nigel had finally gotten through the door.

"Let him Go!"

Suddenly my vision filled with a chaotic mass of white and blue as Jewel threw herself onto Nigel in an attempt to free me. The rescue was short lived however as Jewel was quickly thrown off Nigel and beyond my vision. I heard a faint thud followed by a jarring crash and a cry of pain.

"Jewel!" I cried, letting precious oxygen escape my throat as I craned to see what had happened to her. Despite my efforts, I only managed to see the cages before Nigel tightened his grip on my throat.

"M-My wing!" Jewel cried in obvious pain.

"Oh pity, now we have TWO useless, flightless birds." Nigel mocked in false concern tightening his grip on me even further.

My lungs were burning, begging for oxygen. My vision had begun to blur and fade. I was choking to death. Nigel began to laugh. My thoughts became erratic and unfocused. It was becoming impossible to think. Jewel. She came to mind. It wasn't some life saving moment of clarity, I couldn't suddenly focus, but I did want to try one last time.

Darkness enveloped my senses. I knew my eyes were open but I couldn't see. Still my thoughts stayed on Jewel. I had to think of something. Then beneath Nigel's laughs and the hum of the plane, I heard it. The subtle hiss of the extinguisher I had used earlier.

In one final effort I groped for the sound hoping against hope to find it. I did. The bungee cord. I pulled with all my might, had I been able to breath I would have grunted. I clipped the hook on what I could only hope was the white cockatoo's leg. The dizzy, light feeling that followed was suddenly relieved when a little air trickled into my lungs.

Nigel had loosened his grip in surprise. Without thinking I groped for the pin of the extinguisher. Again luck was kind to me and I found it. My vision had begun to return and I vaguely saw the look of confusion on Nigel's face. I knew I must have succeeded.

"Not cool, man. Not Cool." I choked out despite my throats protests.

I pulled the pin.

The weight on my chest and neck immediately eased and I gasped for air grateful to be alive. I coughed a couple times and slowly stood up. My neck felt raw but I couldn't find anything truly wrong with it. I turned looking for Jewel.

My gaze however, fell onto the feathers that appeared behind the plane. I could only assume that the extinguisher had propelled the twisted cockatoo out the back of the plane. Satisfied that he was no longer a threat, at least for the time being, I took a deep breath refocusing myself on finding and caring for Jewel.

The entire room suddenly shifted as the plane took a sharp bank. What was happening? I lost my balance and rolled towards the side of the cargo bay.

"Blu!" I heard Jewel scream. I whipped around to see her sliding towards the edge of the ramp.

Without a second thought, I launched myself after her determined to keep her from falling.

I reached desperately for her but she was to far ahead and silently slipped off the ramp, falling towards earth.

"No! No!" I cried pitifully grasping at the air she had just occupied, her form already beginning to blend with ocean below her.

* * *

><p>I gasped as darkness surrounded me. I was breathing heavily and the heat in the room was downright oppressive. The inky darkness slowly faded as my eyes adjusted. I was back in the aviary. Stiff pain returned to my joints, reminding me of my actions earlier in the evening.<p>

I sat, staring in the darkness for a long minute, catching my breath. The dream was haunting my thoughts and I instinctively gripped the branch, digging my talons into the wood. My thoughts assaulted my consciousness, paralyzing me in fear and dread. I had done everything, worked so hard, and still, still, I had lost her. I had done so much, but I failed in the moment she needed me most.

I sucked in a raspy breath and forced away the offending thoughts. My mind had done the job though; I hesitantly turned to my side, expecting the empty branch.

I sighed in relief when I saw Jewel's sleeping form a foot further down the branch. Still my mind reeled with painful thoughts and my sigh of relief quickly turned into quiet sobs as I broke down.

The tears began to flow, dropping silently to the floor several feet below. I couldn't shake the dream. My mind taunted me with the cold facts. If I couldn't protect her, help her, or even fly with her, then I was surely going to lose her.

I'm not sure how long the quiet sobs shook me, but those simple realizations had rooted themselves in my mind and dominated my focus. My feathers were getting soaked, but I didn't care, couldn't care.

My eyes opened briefly in surprise when she quietly embraced me. Even as her wings wrapped around me in the darkness, I couldn't hold back the sobs and shudders of my break down. It was several minutes and a soaked bandage later before I could choke out a few words to the Jewel of my life.

"I- I just don't wa- can't lose you." I sputtered regaining a little composure and glancing toward her. I began to continue, but she cut me off.

"I'm here, Blu, I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere." She softly said

I began to retort, hoping to explain the pitiful state I was in, but she tightened her good wing around me and had to choke back a few more tears. We embraced each other for several minutes while my mind emptied itself of its worry.

Jewel stifled a yawn and at her queue, I let go and let her go back to sleep. I could see the thin red light of the rising sun as it began its slow job piercing the darkness of the Brazilian jungle that surrounded the aviary. My eyes grew heavy and I found myself ready to sleep again, peacefully this time.

* * *

><p>The wind whipped my feathers in every direction, threatening to throw me off-balance. But I stood, frozen at the edge of my life, staring into horrible choice. I could find Linda, forget this ordeal and move on; or I could throw myself to the wind and spend a few more seconds with Jewel. Before I could even process the two choices, I found myself stepping off the ramp.<p>

The point where I became weightless seemed like a good enough time as any to let my life flash before my eyes. I could see my earliest memory, the fall I had taken all those years ago. Before my life vision could continue though, I snapped my eyes open, remembering why I had left the platform in the first place.

I immediately wished I had kept my eyes closed. Fear gripped my stomach, turning it and making me feel heavier. The ocean was rushing towards me far faster than I would like. Still, through all of this, I was gaining rapidly on Jewel, a little too rapidly in fact.

I tried to slow myself down but the awkward appendages I called wings did little to slow me. With far more force than I intended, I slammed into Jewel, grabbed her and held on.

"Blu, you're crazy! What are you doing?" she yelled at me through the deafening wind, a look of shock adorning her face.

"I'm not going to let you go! We're Chained-to-each-other birds, remember?" I yelled back as I tried not to panic, our situation finally sinking in.

In my mental panic, I couldn't help but pause and realize how cliché and unoriginal my words had just been. We were going to die and the last words Jewel was going to hear would consist of a lame pun and dialogue that could be used in a kid's movie.

My thoughts were interrupted when the unexpected happened.

Jewel kissed me.

**A/N: Well here it is, another chapter. I can honestly tell you that I have been swamped with work and school. To be honest, those are my first priorities. Schoolwork and real bird rehabilitation comes before my writing. Thanks for being patient; even through this, I hope to finish my story before the one year mark, but I cannot promise it. **

**About the story: I am coming close to the conclusion as you probably guessed, we are one or two chapters away from the end now and I couldn't be happy. Not just to see it done, but to know how much I have learned from all of this, whether it's writing practice or the experience I gained from my research for this, I know that I have learned a lot from this endeavor. See you soon, I hope. **


	11. Feel It in your Heart

**A/N In the next chapter**

**As you know, I don't own any of these characters, the locations, events, ideas, occurrences, or anything else that may appear in both the movie RIO and my story; that is all the property of Blue Sky. Enjoy!**

**11. Feel it In Your Heart**

The wind that whipped angrily at my feathers quickly faded. Time itself seemed to slow and the only sensation I could comprehend was the touch of her beak against mine. Nothing else mattered, the arguments, challenges and trials that had plagued these past two days drained away with the last of my concerns. She had kissed me! I had committed and she reciprocated! I barely registered the fact that she had finally pulled her beak from mine. Nothing mattered, I was going to die, but I was going to die a happy bird. It was during this acceptance that my wings jerked back violently, wrenched open by the wind, straining to stop our descent.

The ocean spray spattered against my beak and I hesitantly opened my eyes, unsure of what was going on. Looking down I could see Jewel in my grip. Instinctively, I squeezed a bit harder hoping against hope that I wouldn't drop my special cargo. The waves were still inches below me. We were gliding; somehow I had stopped our descent. My wings ached at the strain of stopping two bodies from falling at terminal velocity. I tucked them in before quickly realizing my mistake and shooting them back out. I pumped my wings twice, gaining a few shaky inches above the surf.

It was only at this point that I realized exactly what was going on. The pieces came together and I finally understood what was going on. I was flying! I shook my head a bit, the astonishment quickly showing on my face. Still the water beneath us was quite close, my wings already hurt, how was I controlling this? Panic quickly began to set in as questions poured into my mind quickly overwhelming the accomplishment.

"Blu!" That voice, that one voice shook the questions from my worried mind. I was doing this for her, for us. "You're flying!" I could hear the joy in her voice, whether it was because I was flying or a realization that we weren't dead, it didn't matter, she was happy. The soreness of my inexperienced wings faded to a dull throb, with my mind cleared by her voice, my instincts were able to kick in and we slowly began to rise above the water. The air calmed as we rose above the ocean and I found myself reveling in what was happening.

"I'm flying! I'm really flying!" Tears of joy and relief clouded my vision. I was really flying! I was with the one I loved, I hadn't died, and I was flying!

My feathers vibrated with as the wind wove its way through them. I flapped them a few more times my confidence in them building and my excitement piquing.

"You're Right, I'm not an ostrich, I'm not an ostrich!"

* * *

><p>I felt like an ostrich, an ostrich lost in Alaska. My feathers shook softly as I nervously shifted my weight. Even breathing was becoming difficult as I quietly panicked. This was easily turning into the most nerve wracking moment of my life. Like it or not, everything was going to change. I desperately recalled my time spent in the bookstore researching this. None of the books or articles that came to mind did more than draw my panicked state closer to critical levels. I couldn't see Jewel at the moment, but I had to convince myself that she was at least a little nervous about this as well, if only to make me feel less alone in my paranoia.<p>

I shifted uneasily, unable to get comfortable on Linda's arm as we walked down the hallway. From the way she held herself, I could tell that she was nervous, but that wasn't killing her excitement which found its way into the slight bounce of her step. Flustered that even Linda was handling this better than I was, I continued to endure my crisis alone. My heart rate again jumped as another spike of nerves hit me. We were really about to do it.

They were just going to throw my off the rail and I was going to die.

That was it; no other solution came to me. After all we had been through; Linda was just going to throw me to my death in front of the only bird I loved.

As if on queue, a harsh white light appeared, blinding me from my surroundings. In my worry I had missed the last minutes of my life. I couldn't help but feel a bit upset at myself. I had even missed watching my life flash before my eyes. However, before I could beat myself up about it, color began to bleed into my vision and I realized that the light was merely outside shining in from an open door. I also realized that I certainly deserved an award for overreacting today.

Still, melodrama and imagination aside, I could still feel my heart beating high in my throat as my feathers compressed in nervous anticipation. I looked around taking in my surroundings. The sky looked welcoming and clear, but the Jungle floor lay menacingly beneath the platform we had just stepped onto. I turned my head just in time to see Tulio carefully set Jewel on the banister. Before I could blink, Jewel was in the air, giddily crying out, lost in the bliss and freedom that was flight.

As I watched her, Linda moved to the same banister before lowering her arm to it. Gingerly, I stepped off still eying the jungle floor. I turned to Linda for some advice, wishing briefly to be home in Minnesota. What I found instead was he hand held out in a confident fist.

My Eyes watered as I made eye contact with Linda, my Linda. My lifelong friend. Instantly memories flooded my mind.

The fire, prom this ill fated trip, every hard time we had been through.

Friday nights, the bookstore, this amazing wonderful trip, all the good times.

In everything, she had wanted what was best for me. She had always pushed me to do what was right. She had guided me, led me to be the bird I was today.

My nerves subsided and my heart rate slowed a bit. I could do this, for her.

I turned from her, having instinctively finished our greeting. I stared towards the flying form ahead of me.

Jewel

The one I loved.

Through thick and thin.

My eyes drifted towards the Jungle below me. Everything I had read the potential dangers ahead.

No!

No matter the challenge, we would stick together; we were chained-to-each-other birds.

My heart now quickened, not in fear, but anticipation.

With a deep breath I stepped off the railing.

The wind met my wings.


	12. A Note of Sorts

Well that's it! I'm done. It's been nearly two years, eleven chapters and over 25000 words, but I finished the story I wanted to tell. To those who have been waiting, I do apologize for making you wait, but I cannot apologize for my reasons. If there is one thing that this story has taught me it is that I am not a writer. I may write well enough to get through a few semesters of papers but I am no writer.

And yet, this story has taught me much more than that and may in part be responsible for a drastic shift in my life. It is kind of funny to think that a fanfiction (a relatively short one at that) could do that, but alas, it truly has.

Two simple but essential lessons that I wish to share come to mind. The first revolves around character development and expression. At times, I struggled for days, weeks, and even months trying to find the right words to express the characters within this story. I make no claims that I succeeded beyond my own satisfaction, but I will share my method for one who isn't a writer to those who are. My tool was empathy. I worked hard to empathize with my characters in a way that would allow me to write in their voice. Often this required me to write when I was in the same mood as the character I was writing. Again, if it worked is up for you to decide, but I will say that taking the extra time in this regard, did, at the very least, open my eyes to their though process and what might be going on in their head during the story.

The second is less of a method and more of an encouragement. In mid 2011 when I started this story, I knew nothing about birds or anything regarding avian characteristics. This posed a few challenges and quickly had doing research to overcome my ignorance. My research didn't end with Google and Wikipedia, rather I quickly found myself at a Wildlife Rehab center that specialized in birds of prey. Where I initially was seeking information on parrots, macaws, conures, and domesticated birds, I found myself dealing with talons, hooked beaks and generally bad attitudes. Even with the risk involved, I quickly became hooked on these "raptors". The personality these birds showed was truly an inspiration for anyone gifted with words.

Summer faded into fall and my tenure at the rehab center ended when I moved back for school. I continued to write this story throughout, but the draw to these birds only became stronger and soon I found myself volunteering with a Wildlife Education Center. Here I performed programs with these birds, learning to handle them and share their wonder with others.

The School year passed and grew into this past summer where I returned home to the Rehab Center. I returned, seasoned and able to handle, medicate and release more birds than ever. I even pursued and became a licensed falconer. Now as another year dawns, I am looking to expand my horizons farther than I ever would have dreamed two years ago.

I say all this in the hopes that you as writers might take the extra step in your research, if you are writing about birds, or the city, or rural areas, or whatever, go the extra mile and experience it yourself. For me this led to the realization that I want to work with these amazing animals for the rest of my life. You may discover something similar or even far better than I, but I can guarantee you won't find it on Google or sitting alone at your computer. I will say it again, I am not a writer. Nor should you be, rather, strive to be a researcher, an experimenter of the unknown. Step out and learn with your whole being not just your eyes and ears. When you have done that, come back and write, use your experience to fuel your work and your passion.

Alright, I have rambled enough. So I'll leave you to it.

In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien

"Farewell, wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!"  
>"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks," <div> 


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